ING continued to achieve strong commercial momentum
· Retail customer base grew to 38.4 million in 4Q18, and primary customer relationships grew by 300,000 to reach 12.5 million
· Net core lending increased by €3.2 billion in 4Q18; net customer deposit inflow amounted to €7.7 billion

ING 4Q18 underlying pre-tax result of €1,692 million; full-year 2018 underlying pre-tax result up 4.5% on 2017
· Results reflect continued business growth at resilient margins, higher net commission and fee income, and lower risk costs
· Full-year underlying ROE rose to 11.2% and fully loaded CET1 ratio is strong at 14.5%; FY2018 dividend of €0.68 per share

CEO statement
"This past year has been filled with both achievements to be proud of and challenges to overcome and learn from," said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group. "Following the settlement we reached with Dutch authorities in September 2018, we are continuing our know your customer (KYC) enhancement programme, emphasising regulatory compliance as the key priority. The organisation continues to work hard on enhancing our customer due diligence files and on a number of structural solutions to bring our anti-money laundering activities to a sustainably better level. We're committed to conducting our business with integrity, and regulatory compliance remains the priority for 2019 and beyond.

"At the same time, we've maintained the focus on our customers by continuing to create innovative products and services while transforming internally so we can provide customers with a differentiating and efficient banking experience. As we work to accelerate the pace of innovation, fintech fund ING Ventures made several investments. We invested in multibank platform Cobase, for example, which makes it easier and more efficient for international corporate clients to work with multiple banks. We also invested, together with UniCredit, in Axyon AI, an Italian company that helps banks offer better and faster advice to their clients by using artificial intelligence to identify investors most likely to participate in a syndicated loan, for example.

"We continued to attract new customers. Our global customer base grew by one million customers over the year to reach 38.4 million, and the number of primary customers increased 9.9% to 12.5 million. Our most recent net promoter scores among customers rank us first in six of our 13 retail markets. Our customer focus is also reflected in our strong commercial results in 2018. Net growth in core lending amounted to €36.6 billion, while net growth in customer deposits was €19.3 billion. ING's full-year underlying pre-tax result rose 4.5% to €7,524 million, reflecting continued business growth at resilient interest margins, despite heightened competition in some of our markets; higher net commission and fee income; and somewhat lower risk costs. ING's full-year underlying return on equity increased from 2017 to 11.2% and the fully loaded CET1 ratio came in strong at 14.5%. We propose a full-year 2018 cash dividend of €0.68 per share, comprising the interim dividend of €0.24 paid in August 2018 and a final dividend of €0.44 per share.

"Fourth-quarter underlying operating expenses fell 1.9% year-on-year, but they rose 11.3% from the third quarter, mainly due to higher regulatory costs related to the Dutch banking tax. We stepped up our cost-saving measures, resulting in a four-quarter rolling average cost-to-income ratio of 54.8%. We see a need for further cost discipline as we expect lower lending growth in Wholesale Banking, possible increases in regulatory expenses as well as due to the fact that Financial Markets profitability continues to be challenging.

"As we take steps to build a sustainable future for our company and our customers, we've achieved a milestone in our ambition to steer our €600 billion loan book towards the well-below two-degree goal of the Paris Agreement. I'm proud that four major global banks have already joined us in our pledge - together, we have a combined loan book of €2.4 trillion. We believe that banks have a vital role to play in scaling, accelerating and financing the transition towards a low-carbon economy. Together, we are stronger. Supporting this transition, ING successfully issued the largest ever green bond transaction certified under the Climate Bonds Standard, and the largest ever from a European bank. The bonds will fund a green loan portfolio of new and existing loans in renewable energy and green buildings.

"We've started 2019 with total dedication to our regulatory and compliance commitments, while always remembering who we're here for - our customers. Empowering them to stay a step ahead in life and in business remains our guiding purpose."

Further information
All publications related to ING's 4Q/FY2018 results can be found at www.ing.com/4q18, including a video with Ralph Hamers. The video is also available on YouTube. Additional financial information is available at www.ing.com/qr:

· Full ING Group FY/4Q2018 press release (PDF)
· ING Group analyst presentation (PDF, also available via SlideShare)
· ING Group historical trend data (PDF, XLS)

For further information on ING, please visit www.ing.com. Frequent news updates can be found in the Newsroom or via the @ING_news Twitter feed. Photos of ING operations, buildings and its executives are available for download at Flickr. Footage (B-roll) of ING is available via ing.yourmediakit.com or can be requested by emailing info@yourmediakit.com. ING presentations are available at SlideShare.

Investor conference call, Media conference call and webcasts
Ralph Hamers, Koos Timmermans and Steven van Rijswijk will discuss the results in an Investor conference call on 6 February 2019 at 9:00 a.m. CET. Members of the investment community can join the conference call at +31 20 531 5821 (NL), +44 203 365 3209 (UK) or +1 866 349 6092 (US) and via live audio webcast at www.ing.com.

Ralph Hamers, Koos Timmermans and Steven van Rijswijk will also discuss the results in a media meeting 6 February 2019 at 11:00 a.m. CET. Journalists are welcome at ING Amsterdamse Poort, Bijlmerplein 888, Amsterdam. Alternatively, they can dial-in in listen-only mode via +31 20 531 5871 (NL) or +44 203 365 3210 (UK). The Media meeting can also be followed via live audio webcast at www.ing.com

reactie XEA.nl
Op de cijfers
Waar is de service nog bij financiële instellingen.
Is de klant nog "koning" bij hen?
Neen is volmondig ons antwoord.
Alles wordt je als klant door de strot geduwd en service is er nauwelijks bij.
Wij vergelijken de Kredietinstellingen met de Toezichthouders, wel wat vragen, maar het antwoord komt HEEEEEL veel later of hellemaal NIET!!!!
Allrounders lopen er nauwelijks meer rond. Ieder heeft zo zijn/haar kennis en ach vandaag werkt die & die niet, maar U vraag zullen we doorsluizen en na enige tijd hoor je NIETS meer.
Begin dit jaar waren wij nog bij 1 Effectenkredietinstelling, die bank beambte werkte er ca. 40 jaar en hoopte van een UITSANERING, en anders moest er nog 2 jaar gewerkt worden.
Ze doen MAAR! kregen wij te horen.
Banken zijn de rechterhand van de OVERHEID geworden, is onze indruk. Zelfstandigheid? Ach, de bonussen kunnen de toppers zelf opstrijken.
De Regeringsleiders kijken ook uit naar HUN bonus, dat is een NOG mooier baan te Brussel.

tijd 09.00
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