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ING Bank posts declining profits in 2014

Xinhua, February 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

ING Bank recorded a decline in net results in 2014, the Dutch bank announced on Wednesday.

The full year net result in 2014 was 2.60 billion euros (2.94 billion U.S dollars), compared to 3.03 billion in 2013, a decline of 14 percent. The 2014 underlying net profit was 3.42 billion euros, up 8.5 percent from full-year 2013.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, the net banking result was 530 million euros, down by 20.4 percent compared to the same period the previous year.

"ING Bank posted a strong set of full-year 2014 results, despite some headwinds in the fourth quarter," Ralph Hamers, CEO of the ING Group, said in a press release.

"Interest results were robust, risk costs approached normalized levels and our continued vigilance on costs was evident as we invested for the further digitization of our banking services in the Netherlands," he added.

ING's results in 2014 were affected by the final repayment of state aid in November last year. During the financial crisis in 2008, the Dutch government decided to allow certain banks to get a capital injection. ING used this possibility to receive a capital injection of 10 billion euros.

After repaying 12.50 billion euros (including interest and premiums), ING had to pay the final amount of 1.025 billion no later than May 2015. However, after passing a European Central Bank stress test in late October, ING decided to complete the repayment in November.

"2014 was an important and successful year for ING," Hamers said. "We launched our 'Think Forward' strategy, repaid the Dutch State ahead of schedule and moved closer to completing our restructuring plan. We are proud to have solidified our repositioning as a leading European bank."

Hamers also announced the reinstatement of dividend payments on ordinary shares with a proposed cash dividend of 0.12 euros per share. Endit