.ING continues to record growth in customers and core lending; Think Forward transformation programmes progressing well
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Primary customer base increased in 2Q18 by 400,000 to 12.0 million; total number of retail customers reached 38.2 million
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Net core lending in 2Q18 grew by €14.2 billion; net customer deposit inflow amounted to €5.8 billion

ING 2Q18 underlying pre-tax result of €2,022 million; ING declares interim cash dividend of €0.24 per share
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2Q18 result reflects well-diversified loan growth, solid net fee and commission income, and low level of risk costs
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ING's 2Q18 four-quarter rolling underlying ROE was 10.4%; ING will pay an interim cash dividend of €0.24 per ordinary share

CEO statement
"Our drive to constantly innovate and offer a differentiating customer experience contributed to our strong commercial performance in the second quarter of 2018," said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group. "Our global customer base reached 38.2 million, of which 12.0 million are primary customers. We are grateful for the trust our customers place in us and are committed to serving them to the best of our ability. Our employees consistently make customers their highest priority while adapting to the many changes brought by our ongoing transformation programmes, which will further improve our service proposition and operational efficiency.

"In the second quarter, we undertook several initiatives to build on our ambition to become the 'go-to' place for all the financial needs of customers. We partnered with French insurer AXA to create personalised insurance products and services for customers. Together, we aim to disrupt the insurance market with a digital platform that will offer property & casualty, health and protection insurance in six of our Challengers markets, in a clear and easy way.

"We also worked on innovative digital solutions that empower small businesses and entrepreneurs to find the best funding for their specific needs. We partnered with Funding Options in the Netherlands and invested in FinCompare in Germany - two digital platforms that offer small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access to a wide range of financing options that they can easily compare and select. In Poland, we launched Invoice Financing, a digital microfactoring solution for SMEs that we developed in-house. It puts SME customers in control over which invoices they want to finance and when.

"The second quarter also marked the completion of a key milestone in ING's transformation with the merger of Record Bank into ING in Belgium. Record Bank customers were successfully migrated to ING's platform, now enabling all customers in Belgium to benefit from one consistent client-service model that is digitally enabled and supported by our branch network. But we aren't finished yet; our next priorities are to rationalise our product assortment and to unite the IT platforms of Belgium and the Netherlands. These initiatives are integral to unifying our cross-border organisation and unlocking synergies in two of our largest markets for the benefit of customers.

"Our net core lending book increased by €14.2 billion in the second quarter through well-diversified and disciplined growth across both Retail and Wholesale Banking. Despite the low interest rate environment, the net interest margin held up well. We remain conscious of maintaining a healthy balance between risk and returns. ING Group's second-quarter 2018 underlying result before tax was €2,022 million, reflecting our continued loan growth and solid net fee and commission income. Risk costs remained low at 15 basis points of average risk-weighted assets. The underlying return on equity on a four-quarter rolling average basis was 10.4%.

"ING Group's fully loaded CET1 ratio was 14.1% at the end of June 2018, as the second-quarter capital generation was outpaced by an increase in RWA, mainly stemming from business growth and a macro-prudential add-on. In the second quarter, we reserved €0.9 billion of the quarterly net profit for future dividend payments, as we did with the first-quarter net profit. ING will pay an interim cash dividend of €0.24 per ordinary share over the first six months of 2018. We remain committed to maintaining a strong capital position and reiterate our aim to pay a progressive dividend.

"Our second-quarter performance confirms that we're living up to our Customer Promise every day. Looking ahead, we continue to focus on managing expenses, optimising operational excellence, enhancing our compliance and non-financial risk practices, and executing our digital strategy. I'm confident that our efforts will further strengthen our company and enable sustainable success for the long-term benefit of all stakeholders."

Further information
All publications related to ING's 2Q18 results can be found at www.ing.com/2q18, including a video with Ralph Hamers. The video is also available on YouTube. Additional financial information is available at www.ing.com/qr:

· ING Group historical trend data (PDF, XLS)
· ING Group analyst presentation (PDF, also available via SlideShare)


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