ING back in black; reports euro 71 mn Q2 profit

Dutch financial services major ING Group N V has posted a second-quarter profit of euro 71 million, bolstered by higher interest income and recovery in stock markets.

The entity had a loss of euro 793 million in the first quarter of 2009.     

"ING posted solid commercial performance in the quarter, as a more favourable interest rate environment and improved margins on savings and lending led to a 19.4 per cent increase in interest income at the banking operations.     

"In Insurance, the recovery of equity markets in the second quarter helped boost fees on assets under management," ING's Chief Executive Officer Jan Hommen said in a statement today.     

 

The financial services entity had a profit of euro 1.92 billion in the second quarter of 2008.     

ING has a presence in India in banking, insurance and asset management businesses.     

The Netherlands-based group witnessed improvements in the interest rate environment and saw reductions in client savings rates, among others in the second quarter of this year.     

Even though global equity market rallies lifted "unit-linked balances" in the insurance segment, ING noted that consumers remained risk-averse.  

According to the company, economic situation is anticipated to remain challenging for some more time.

"While we begin to see signs of recovery in financial markets, economic conditions are expected to remain challenging for some time," Hommen noted.     

ING would not be paying an interim dividend on common shares over 2009.     

Meanwhile, the firm said it has already slashed more than 8,000 jobs so far this year. Earlier in 2009, ING announced plans to reduce its head count by 7,000 employees.