ING Direct 2009 Annual Report Download - page 8

Chairman’s statement
“ We want to be a company that
takes its responsibilities towards
society seriously, is easier to deal
with for customers, motivational
for employees and predictable
for shareholders.”
Jan Hommen, chairman of the Executive Board
Dear stakeholder,
Adapting to the changed financial landscape
required bold steps and landmark decisions.
Our first priority in 2009 was to strengthen
our financial position and navigate through
the crisis. We introduced the Back to Basics
programme, setting high targets which were
adjusted upwards throughout the year. We
have reduced the size of our bank balance
sheet by 18% (target was 10%), reduced
our operating expenses by EUR 1.5 billion
(target was EUR 1 billion) and returned ING
to profitability on an underlying basis.
2009 was a challenging year for financial markets, and for ING.
Therefore, we are especially thankful for the continued loyalty
of our customers, whose trust in our Company is our licence
to operate. In the past year, we reviewed our portfolio in order
to create a company with fewer, more coherent and stronger
businesses. Several divestments were announced in 2009, the
proceeds of which have been or will be used to fortify ING’s capital
position. The good progress made on divestments reflects the
momentum of our strategic transformation. There have only been
divestments on attractive terms, a testament to the fact that we are
carefully and diligently managing this divestment process and to the
value inherent in our business.
One of the key goals of Back to Basics was to reduce the
complexity of the Group. An operational split of the Group’s
corporate governance has been in effect since 1 June 2009 when
a separate Management Board Banking and Management Board
Insurance were created. At the same time, the Executive Board was
limited to the chief executive officer, chief financial officer and
chief risk officer positions. Throughout the Group, our governance
model has been adapted to our strategy, with rigorous business
performance reviews, better accountability and increased focus.
Back to Basics culminated in the decision to separate our banking
and insurance and investment management activities. The need for
simplicity, in combination with the negative impact of the financial
crisis on ING, outweighs former benefits of the bancassurance
model. On 25 November 2009 our decision to split the Company
was approved by our shareholders.
At the same meeting our shareholders also approved a rights issue
of up to EUR 7.5 billion. This rights issue was successfully completed
on 21 December 2009. It has allowed us to repay half of the funds
we received in 2008 from the Dutch State (plus accrued coupon of
EUR 259 million and a premium of EUR 346 million) and to further
strengthen our capital position. We will pursue the repayment of
the remaining state capital from internal resources.
The split of the Company is part of the Restructuring Plan to which
we have agreed with the European Commission (EC) in order to
obtain retroactive EC approval of state aid received. The plan
Shaping our future
1.1 Who we are
ING Group Annual Report 2009
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