ING Direct 2004 Annual Report Download - page 26

WHOLESALE BANKING
(continued)
1.2
OUR PERFORMANCE
HIGHLIGHTS
A client-focused organisation
In 2004, Wholesale Banking concentrated its efforts on
reshaping and repositioning its business. ING decided to
refocus service with the full range of products to corporates
and institutions in the European home market (especially the
Benelux countries). Outside the home markets, our approach
became more selective in terms of products and clients.
This repositioning was a natural consequence of ING Group’s
renewed strategic focus and the important shifts in
wholesale-banking trends globally.
In line with the principles underlying the new structure
of ING Group, Wholesale Banking moved away from its
regionally organised structure towards a functionally driven
and more client-focused organisation, in which the accent
is on execution and accountability. The groundwork for
this reorganisation was put in place in 2004 and was fully
implemented by January 2005.
The new organisation allows for a much more unified
approach to clients, put into practice by senior account
managers and underpinned by focus sector heads and senior
bankers, who provide the essential link between the key
client and product divisions within Wholesale Banking.
These divisions also aim to further enhance their cooperation
with Wholesale Banking’s Financial Markets division, whose
business was also comprehensively restructured in 2004.
The common aim of these different pillars of Wholesale
Banking’s new organisation is to find further cross-selling
opportunities across all the business units, which add value
for the client and for ING.
As from 2005, mid-corporates in the Netherlands and Belgium
also form part of the new Wholesale Banking organisation. This
strengthens the home market position of the corporate-client
business and supports the wider initiatives to increase the cross-
selling opportunity of the full product range in these markets.
Divestments and acquisitions
Wholesale Banking’s repositioning and ING’s overall focus on
optimal capital allocation meant that portfolio management
was an important point on the agenda in the Wholesale
Banking business line. In Germany, ING sold ING BHF-Bank,
in Asia the cash equities business was sold and in the
Netherlands CenE Bankiers. We also reached an agreement to
the sell UK-based Baring Asset Management. And with GE
Commercial Finance, we reached an agreement to restructure
our mutually owned working-capital joint venture, NMB-
Heller. In the UK, ING purchased the asset finance, country
finance and vendor finance businesses of Abbey National, since
they form a strong fit with ING Lease UK’s existing small and
middle ticket equipment financing activities.
The divestments were part of Wholesale Banking’s continued
efforts to streamline its international network. ING BHF-Bank
no longer fitted into ING’s strategy; most of the bank was sold
to Sal. Oppenheim for EUR 600 million. The transaction
included ING BHF’s asset management, private banking,
financial markets and core corporate banking businesses.
The London Branch of ING BHF-Bank was sold to Deutsche
Postbank AG, while HVB Group agreed to buy part of ING
BHF-Bank’s corporate lending portfolio. Following these
transactions, ING retains ING BHF’s 83.7% stake in Deutsche
Hypothekenbank (DHB), a restructured loan portfolio of about
EUR 1.3 billion, and ING BHF-Bank’s private-equity activities.
The sale of ING’s Asian cash equities business to Macquarie
Bank was part of Wholesale Banking’s move to concentrate
on providing value-added products and services to a selected
group of clients in Asia. It also allows Wholesale Banking to
position itself for future sustainable growth.
CenE Bankiers, a subsidiary that specialised in commercial and
private banking, was sold to Van Lanschot. As a result of its
specialisation and segment approach, CenE Bankiers had
developed into a niche player with an independent status
within ING. For these reasons, ING decided to sell rather than
integrate CenE Bankiers with similar activities in Wholesale
Banking or ING’s other private-banking activities.
The streamlining of Wholesale Banking’s international network
also meant further rightsizing elsewhere. Activities in Vietnam,
Turkey, Thailand and Indonesia were readjusted, to adapt the
local operations to Wholesale Banking’s redefined target clients
and product focus. Also in Asia, cost-efficiency considerations
led ING to start trimming its support operations. The allocation
of capital to the Asian region, however, remains unchanged.
ING remains committed to Asia, which is an important future
growth market. Worldwide, Wholesale banking will maintain
its geographical coverage with branches or representative
offices in more than 40 countries.
24 ING Group Annual Report 2004