UPDATE: ING CEO: Co Will Only Divest Units At Right Price

Dutch financial services firm ING Groep NV (ING) is looking at ways to raise cash to start paying back EUR10 billion of emergency government aid, but it will only sell assets at the right price, the company's chief executive said Wednesday.

Chief Executive Jan Hommen reiterated to a press conference that ING plans to divest EUR6 billion to EUR8 billion over the next three to five years.

ING received EUR10 billion of state loans last October to stabilize its capital base at the height of the global banking crisis.

The Amsterdam-based company, which is the Netherlands' largest financial services group by market capitalization, said it wants to repay the aid as soon as possible.

Hommen said ING has had buying interest for some of its assets, but the offers it has received so far haven't met its valuations. He said there remains "no lack of interest" in ING assets, and he expects the market for selling them to improve.

"We are currently reviewing additional strategic options to facilitate our continued transformation and realize our ambition to repay the Dutch state," ING said earlier Wednesday, after reporting a swing to a net profit of EUR71 million in the second quarter after three consecutive quarters of losses.

However, the figure was down from EUR1.92 billion a year earlier, and significantly undershot analyst expectations for EUR388 million of net profit, sending the company's stock price downward.

At 1330 GMT, ING shares were down EUR0.32, or 3.5%, at EUR8.80. But the stock has been recovering after being down 15% at one point.

Hommen said that now ING has stabilized its capital base, it has more options to execute its restructuring program, but didn't elaborate.

He said ING isn't in active talks with the Dutch government on improving the terms of its EUR10 billion aid package, but it may seek better terms in the future, without providing details. He said banks elsewhere have received better terms on their government bailout packages.

The executive added that he hopes for more clarity by year-end from the European Commission on its regulatory review of the Dutch government's aid package.

He said discussions with the commission on the restructuring plan required for ING to gain the European Union's approval for the aid will begin in the coming weeks, and as of yet the outcome of the discussions is uncertain.

ING may have to adapt its restructuring plans to meet whatever edict is laid down by the commission, whose decision could prompt ING to make significant changes, he said.

Company Web site: www.ing.com

-By A.H. Mooradian and Robin van Daalen, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; art.mooradian@ dowjones.com (Bart Koster in Amsterdam contributed to this article.)