ING to pay off €1b Dutch bailout Friday

ING announced today that they will repay the remaining 1.025 billion euro in State support on Friday. In 2009 the financial group received 10 billion euro in capital support to help survive the credit crisis. besides the principal sum, the financial concern ultimately paid 3.5 billion euro in interest and premiums. ING will pay back the last outstanding amount six months before the agreed schedule. The repayment has no effect on capital ratios. The European Central Bank gave the green light for the early repayment after ING effortlessly passed their stress test in October. ING also announced that they have booked an underlying net profit of 1.1 billion euro in the third quarter, more than a third more than the previous year. The bank benefited from higher interest income and lower provisions for bad loans. The underlying result before tax also rose by more than a third to 1.5 billion euro. The bottom line was 928 million euro. That is more than six times as much as a year earlier, when they suffered from a significant loss in the now independent insurance branch (NN). According to CEO Ralph Hamers, the tentative recovery of the Dutch economy translated for ING in an increased demand for credit. ING expanded loans in the third quarter by 3.3 billion euro. This was made possible by a net inflow from entrusted funds of 4.3 billion euro.