ING announced today that ING U.S., Inc., its U.S.-based retirement, investment and insurance business, has filed an update of its preliminary prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with its proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO).

ING has previously announced it is divesting its insurance and investment management businesses as part of a restructuring programme agreed with the European Commission. In this context, ING U.S. filed an initial registration statement with the SEC in November 2012 and amendments to that registration statement in January, March and April. A preliminary prospectus was filed on 16 April 2013 and is also included in today's filing.

As described in the preliminary prospectus filed on 16 April 2013, ING U.S. is in the process of preparing its consolidated U.S. GAAP financial statements for the quarter ended 31 March 2013. The amendment filed today includes more detailed preliminary estimates of the financial information as of and for the three months ended 31 March 2013 regarding operating earnings and operating ROC for the ongoing business, net flows for the Investment Management and Retirement segments, AUM and AUA figures, results of the Closed Block Variable Annuity hedge program and net result.

These preliminary estimates are not a comprehensive statement of ING U.S. financial results for this period, and actual results may differ materially from these estimates due to the completion of financial closing procedures, final adjustments and other developments that may arise between now and the time that the consolidated financial statements for this period are issued. The preliminary estimates are qualified by, and should be read together with, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition" and the consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in the preliminary prospectus dated 16 April 2013.

The preliminary estimates of the financial information included in the amendment filed today have been prepared under U.S. GAAP. They may differ materially from the Insurance United States results ING Group presents on the basis of IFRS-EU. ING Group will publish its full results for the first quarter of 2013 on 8 May 2013.

The offering of the ING U.S. shares will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained for free from Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014, email: prospectus@morganstanley.com, telephone: +1 (866) 718-1649; Goldman, Sachs & Co., Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, telephone: +1 (866) 471-2526, facsimile: +1 (212) 902-9316 or by emailing prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com; and Citigroup Global Markets Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 (telephone: +1 (800) 831-9146).

The registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. A copy of the registration statement may be obtained by visiting the SEC website at www.sec.gov. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.


ING to sell custody services in 7 European countries to Citi
ING announced today that it has reached an agreement to transfer its local custody services business in seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe to Citi, one of the world's largest providers of custody services.

The transfer of local custody services in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine is in line with ING's strategic objective of sharpening the focus of the bank and a result of the strategic review of ING Commercial Banking's business portfolio presented in November 2012.

ING Bank will continue to offer a wide range of commercial banking products in the Central and Eastern Europe region. ING's Commercial Banking network in CEE spans 10 countries offering Lending Services, Transaction Services, Corporate Finance and Financial Markets products to its local and international clients. ING will continue to offer custody services in Poland, where it is an integrated part of the full service banking offering. Today's transaction does not impact ING's retail banking operations or ING's insurance and investment management businesses in the Central and Eastern European region.

The transaction announced today is not expected to have a material impact on ING's results. The transfer is subject to customer consent and applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013 while the full migration of the clients business is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2014.

ING custody services offers a range of products to mainly institutional clients, including safekeeping of securities, settlement of securities transactions and collecting information and income on the securities held under custody. The transaction announced today concerns a workforce of around 130 FTEs across the region and approximately EUR 110 billion assets held under custody as of the first quarter of 2013.

Citi is a leading provider of Securities and Fund Services offering integrated cash management, trade, and securities and fund services to its clients around the world. With a network that spans more than 95 countries, Citi supports over 65,000 clients. As of the first quarter of 2013, it held on average $415 billion in liability balances and $13.5 trillion in assets under custody.