ING Groep 2Q Net Profit Rises; on Track to Achieve Strategic Milestones

By Razak Musah Baba

ING Groep N.V. (INGA.AE) on Wednesday recorded a slight rise in second-quarter net profit, helped by volume growth and higher commission income, and said it is on track to achieve its strategic milestones.

The Dutch banking and financial services group's net profit from continuing operations for the second quarter ended June 30 was up 0.9% at 1.37 billion euros ($1.62 billion) compared with EUR1.36 billion a year earlier. Net interest income during the period rose to EUR3.36 billion from EUR3.27 billion in the second quarter of 2016, ING said. The company declared an interim cash dividend of EUR0.24 a share over the first half of 2017, which is equal to the amount paid over the first half of 2016.

ING Group's four-quarter rolling ROE, or return on equity, was 10.8% and fully loaded common equity Tier 1, or CET1, ratio was stable at 14.5%, it said.

In the second quarter of 2017, ING Group's underlying pretax result was driven by the continued volume growth at resilient interest margins, higher commission income and a one-time gain on the sale of an equity stake in the real-estate run-off portfolio, Chief Executive Ralph Hamers said.

"Our second-quarter performance confirms that the core elements of our strategy are as relevant as ever in the fast-changing worlds of banking and technology, and that we are able to execute steadily on our priorities. We're on the right track to achieve our strategic milestones while continuing to support our growing customer base as we build the bank of the future," Mr. Hamers said.

Write to Razak Musah Baba at [e-mail]; Twitter: @Raztweet

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 02, 2017 02:02 ET (06:02 GMT)

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