ING Direct 2007 Annual Report Download - page 7

04/04
80
100
120
140
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07/04 10/04 04/05 07/05 04/06 07/06 01/0701/05 01/06 10/06 04/07 07/07 01/0810/0710/0501/04
ING (EUR) AEX (EUR) Dow Jones (USD)
Capitalising on changing customer
preferences and building on our solid
business capabilities, we have decided to
sharpen our strategic focus to banking,
investments, life insurance and retirement
services. We want to provide retail
customers with the products they need
during their lives to grow savings, manage
investments and prepare for retirement
with confi dence. We will build and invest
more in bank distribution platforms,
reinforce our product capabilities in asset
management and asset gathering and
increasingly allocate our capital to high-
growth markets.
In line with our sharpened strategic focus,
we have already stepped up our investment
efforts in 2007 and started a major
acquisition programme that strengthens
our positions in important growth markets,
including Turkey, South Korea, Thailand,
and Latin America. We also sold several
non-core businesses, such as our non-life
insurance business in Mexico in early 2008.
We also continued to invest in organic
growth. We further improved the effi ciency
and growth potential of our businesses. In
the Netherlands we are bringing together
ING Bank and Postbank under one single
brand, while we are also optimising the
service and retail distribution model in the
Belgian market. We set up life insurance
and retail banking greenfi elds in Central
Europe. Moreover, we signed important
bank distribution agreements in Greece
and Malaysia. And we invested signifi cantly
in further growing ING Direct.
It is clear that we can fulfi l our strategic
initiatives only with a highly skilled and
dedicated work force that is willing to go
the extra mile for our clients. We put a lot
of effort into attracting and retaining the
best people and we are proud that we are
recognised as a top-tier employer in an
increasing number of countries.
Our role in society is very important to us
and we continuously seek to meet the
highest levels of sound business ethics.
Corporate responsibility is embedded in the
daily business activities of our employees.
We made important progress in social and
environmental areas. ING became ‘carbon
neutral’ in 2007. And, I take great personal
pride in the fact that ING and its employees
helped raise funds for the education of
around 125,000 children for one year; one
child for every employee in the company.
As of 1 January 2008, Cor Herkströter
retired as chairman of the Supervisory
Board of ING Group. Jan Hommen
has been appointed as his successor.
On behalf of my Executive Board colleagues
I wish to express my sincere gratitude
and appreciation for the contribution
Cor Herkströter made to ING Group for
the past nine years. We truly value his
contribution to the success of ING. I would
also like to thank Luella Gross Goldberg,
who will retire from the Supervisory Board
at the Shareholders’ meeting in April, for
her commitment and contribution to ING
over the past years.
ING has proven its commitment to enhance
shareholder returns through an attractive
increase in dividends and a EUR 5 billion
share buy-back, which is well under way.
Our Total Shareholder Return (TSR)
development over the last four years was
74%, well above the average of our peers.
Recent developments have been less
favourable, also due to the fi nancial
markets. Given the strong fundamentals of
our company and our sharpened strategic
direction, I am confi dent of ING’s growth
prospects going forward.
Michel Tilmant
chairman Executive Board
Shareholder
information
€ 26.75
ING share price year-end 2007
In 2007, ING’s share price decreased
20.4% to EUR 26.75 at year-end. Over
the full year, ING underperformed the
AEX by 23.8% points.
€ 1.48
Proposed dividend per share
On 20 February 2008, ING Group
proposed a total dividend for 2007 of
EUR 1.48 per (depositary receipt for an)
ordinary share, to be approved by the
Shareholders’ meeting on 22 April 2008.
In August 2007, an interim dividend of
EUR 0.66 was paid. The fi nal dividend
of EUR 0.82 will be paid fully in cash.
74%
Total Shareholder Return
2004–2007
ING’s Total Shareholder Return amounted
to 74% over the four-year period
2004–2007.
AA-
S&P rating of ING Group
Credit ratings are indicators of the
likelihood of timely and complete
repayment of interest and instalments
of fi xed-income securities as assigned
by rating agencies.
22 April 2008
Annual General Meeting
of Shareholders
The Shareholders’ meeting will take
place in the ‘Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ’,
Piet Heinkade 1, in Amsterdam. The
meeting will be webcast. The meeting
documents are available on the ING
Group website www.ing.com.
Shareholder magazine
In addition to fi nancial press releases, ING also
publishes the magazine ING Shareholder.
You can subscribe to the magazine through
the website www.ing.com. To be kept
informed of press releases and other ING
news, you can subscribe to the email service
on www.ing.com.
Four-year price development ING depositary receipts for shares
index 1 January 2004 = 100
5
ING Group Annual Review 2007