ING Direct 2011 Annual Report Download - page 33

1 Who we are 2 Report of the Executive Board 3 Corporate governance 4 Consolidated annual accounts 5 Parent company annual accounts 6 Other information 7 Additional information
31ING Group Annual Report 2011
Banking overview continued
CONCLUSIONS
Looking ahead, ING Bank will continue to remain vigilant and
focused on containing costs. This is all the more important as the
bank operates in a fierce, competitive environment in difficult
economic conditions and with increasing regulatory constraints.
ING Bank presented its banking strategy in January 2012. This
strategy takes into account recent market, regulatory, consumer
and technology trends.
In the short-term the Bank’s priorities are to manage through
thecrisis, limiting balance sheet and risk-weighted asset growth
and executing on-balance sheet optimisation. We have strong
funding capabilities and attractive home market positions
inNorthern Europe.
We will invest in IT to improve service and work towards
operational excellence. We will continue to simplify the business
portfolio and the organisation, while taking a prudent approach
to capital and funding in the current unstable market conditions.
With our retail models converging, our ambition is to selectively
evolve ING Direct into a full-service bank. ING Bank is well placed
to capture growth opportunities inthe high-growth markets of
Central Europe and Asia. Our experience in lean and competitive
markets has made us leaders in innovative distribution at low
costs. This puts us in a good position as customers want simple,
transparent and fairly priced products.
For Commercial Banking, we will continue to build on our existing
strengths, such as our leading positions in the Benelux and in
Structured Finance and Financial Markets, and our extensive
international network in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond.
Our intention is to sustain and further develop these pillars of our
Commercial Banking franchise in order to support growth
initiatives elsewhere.