ING records continued commercial growth and further progress on Think Forward strategic priorities
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ING grew retail customer base in 3Q17 by 400,000 to 36.9 million, and primary relationships reached 10.5 million
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Net core lending in 3Q17 increased by EUR 8.0 billion; net customer deposit inflow amounted to EUR 4.2 billion

ING 3Q17 underlying pre-tax result of EUR 1,995 million
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Strong result reflects business growth at resilient margins and low risk costs
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ING Group 3Q17 four-quarter rolling ROE improves to 11.0%; ING Group fully loaded CET1 ratio remained stable at 14.5%

CEO statement
"We look back on a quarter in which our businesses performed well as we make progress on accelerating our Think Forward transformation programmes," said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group."In the Netherlands, cost savings from earlier transformation efforts are coming through now. Our global customer base grew to 36.9 million, including an increase in the number of primary customers to 10.5 million. We always put our customers first, and in the midst of the transformation programmes these results are quite an achievement."

"The results also confirm that we are on the right path in transforming ING into the bank of the future as we strive to empower people to stay a step ahead in life and in business by being clear, easy, consistent and convenient. We know there's much to learn from others through this process, and we see value in combining strengths through cooperation. An example is our recently announced partnership with online wealth manager Scalable Capital in Germany. This expands our offering with digital investment management services, also known as robo-advice. We will continue to create and co-create customer experiences like these - those that are personal, seamless, instant and relevant."

"Our innovation partnerships take various forms. Last week we announced ING Ventures, a EUR 300 million fund that will invest in start-ups and companies that have already gained some market traction. ING Ventures will help accelerate the pace of innovation, one of our priorities. Each investment will be strictly aligned with our strategy to deliver a differentiating customer experience."

"In order to better serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we recently launched offerings for SMEs in Italy and France together with five fintech partners who each cover a part of the loan process, from onboarding to disbursement. Business clients can get approval for a loan of up to EUR 100,000 within 10 minutes as we use the right risk assessment tools and combine a seamless and instant digital service with the personal touch they expect. This is a great advantage for customers who want to concentrate on running their businesses and don't want to spend too much time on banking."

"Part of helping people and businesses stay a step ahead is preparing them for the world of tomorrow. We played a role in ground-breaking sustainable finance projects, including acting as joint mandated lead arranger in the GBP 250 million bond for Anglian Water, the first sterling (GBP) green bond in the public utility sector, and as part of the banking syndicate providing project financing for one of Australia's largest solar plants."

"Overall, we've seen good commercial growth in the third quarter, with EUR 8.0 billion of net core lending growth at stable margins and a EUR 4.2 billion increase in net customer deposits. ING Group's third-quarter underlying pre-tax result was EUR 1,995 million. Operating expenses remained under control, supported by the benefits from ongoing cost-saving initiatives. Our focus on profitable business led to ING Group's underlying return on equity on a four-quarter rolling basis improving to 11.0% from 9.1% a year ago."

"Our continuous efforts were recognised by being named "Best Bank in the World" by Global Finance magazine. I therefore want to conclude by thanking our employees worldwide, who are working hard every day to genuinely, energetically and skilfully serve our customers. With the dynamic, ever-changing environment we're operating in, I know it isn't always easy. I'm inspired by the ING team every day."

Further information
All publications related to ING's 3Q17 results can be found at www.ing.com/3q17, 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)

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.

tijd 09.20
ING EUR 15,985 +4,5ct vol. 1,6 milj.