(13 May 2005 – Europe) Dutch banking giant ING Group announced its first quarter profit grew by a whopping 72 percent on the back of its highly successful ING Direct service.ING’s net income was 1.94 billion euros (US$2.48 billion) compared with 1.13 billion euros (US$1.44 billion) for the corresponding quarter in 2004.
But ING chief financial officer Cees Maas said the markets had become more challenging this year and the bank would shed 1000 jobs in the Netherlands over the next two years.
The ING Direct profit grew 62 percent and was booming in China.
The other success story was ING’s insurance business in Asia Pacific which grew 53 percent over the quarter to 171 million euros.
In Australia, ING operates a joint venture with ANZ. At its results announcement last month, ANZ said the business had grown 34 percent in the year to March.