Dutch financial services group ING registered a loss of 793 million euros (US$1,085 million) in the first quarter of this year as asset prices continued to fall due to the fallout of the financial crisis, the group said on Wednesday.

The Amsterdam-based group said in a statement on its website that its banking arm booked a profit before tax of 443 million euros (US$606 million), while the insurance arm sustained a loss of 1.32 billion euros (US$1.81 billion) largely due to the declining asset prices.

ING made a profit of 1.54 billion euros (US$2.11 billion) in the first quarter of 2008, and posted a 729-million-euro (US$997 million) loss over the year as a whole.

The group received a capital injection of 10 billion euros (US$13.68 billion) from the Dutch state in October last year and later secured a government guarantee for 80 percent of its toxic US loan portfolio.

ING Chief Executive Officer Jan Hommen said in a statement that the market conditions had been "challenging" in the first quarter "as equity markets declined further, credit spreads remained elevated, real estate prices continued to fall and loan losses increased as the crisis spread from the financial markets to the real economy."

"This year will remain challenging as markets are volatile and the economic environment continues to be uncertain," he said.

Hommen said the group's priorities now are to reduce costs and risk and to reduce complexity by focusing on fewer businesses and markets.

ING has cut its operating expenses by 3.5 percent compared to the first quarter last year and over 75 percent of the planned 7,000 job reduction has been completed as the end of March. Hommen said the group is on track to cut expenses by 1 billion euros (US$1.37 billion) this year.

In order to simplify governance and increase business focus, the group will create separate management boards for banking and insurance, Hommen said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2009)