ING Direct 2011 Annual Report Download - page 37

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
35ING Group Annual Report 2011
Retail Banking continued
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS
ING Belgium (ING BE), the fourth biggest bank in the country,
further improved its already solid position in a turbulent market.
The business was able to gain momentum and increased its market
share. It serves approximately 2.7 million customers and has
773branches. In 2011, Retail Belgium (Retail BE) added more than
85,000 customers (net inflow) to its customer base.
Retail BE continued to improve operations and services, and went
ahead with its branch transformation programme, which places
greater emphasis on direct banking. The ‘direct if possible, advice
when needed’ business model is paying off, as the Bank changes
from being a purely branch-based bank to a multi-channel bank.
Online sales as a percentage of total sales continued to grow.
Nearly 157,000 simple online products (excluding securities
brokerage) were sold, considerably more than the 119,482 sold
in2010, reflecting ING’s objective of meeting customers’ needs.
Despite fierce competition and a stagnating market for regulated
savings, Retail BE increased total savings to EUR 36.2 billion at
year-end, driven mainly by the savings product Orange Book.
Retail BE’s market share of mortgages was 11.9% (portfolio) and
12.6% (production) at year-end. Net production amounted to
EUR 3.0 billion (2010: EUR 2.8 billion).
In December, Retail BE (Mid-Corporates/Institutional Banking)
successfully participated in a tender for banking services, and
acquired the Flemish Government as a client.
As with other banking business units, Retail BE’s ambition is to
become the customer’s preferred bank, through operational
excellence, customer centricity and being a top employer.
Operational excellence
Retail BE’s focus is on the ‘direct if possible, advice when needed’
business model, and specifically on timely, efficient, and flawless
execution of customer services. It wants to make banking easier for
customers and is, therefore, continuously improving services
through its mix of distribution channels.
An example of operational excellence is the improvement in the
customer information flow by directly linking the customer e-IDs to
the ING database.
Retail BE also launched a new ing.be website, which makes iteasier
to monitor and analyse customers and adapt to theirbehaviour.
The Bank will continue to pursue opportunities to improve its
processes and efforts are being made to implement several internal
efficiency solutions, including a new core banking system, which
will reduce the time to market for new products.
Customer centricity
Retail BE’s domestic transformation programme, with its focus on
direct banking, is on track. However, it also continued to invest in
its branch network. The Bank has almost finished the
transformation of its traditional branches to ‘proximity’ outlets
(‘proxi’ branches) with self-service cash facilities and online banking
access. At year-end, 466 branches had been converted into proxi
branches. Retail BE also launched a pilot to transform its bigger
branches to new full-service branches, with equal focus on direct
banking and closer contact with the customer. By the end of 2011,
seven new full-service branches had been opened.
Retail BE launched a mobile banking service in 2011 and its first
mobile banking app, MyING.be, is available through the Apple app
store. MyING.be allows customers to check their balances, see
overviews of accounts and credit-card transactions, make online
transfers and make branch appointments. My ING.be has about
37,000 users and received a 4-star rating, making it the best rated of
all free financial apps. Mobile banking for the Android operating
system will be launched in 2012.
The Bank also launched a new ing.be website in May, allowing
customers to buy simple products. Savings products sold over the
internet increased from 21.2% of total sales in 2010 to 28.1% in
2011. Current accounts and cards sold over the internet rose from
31.8% in 2010 to 38.6% in 2011.
At Home’Bank, Retail BE’s online bank, existing functions were
improved and new ones added, such as an account overview page,
an extended history and search function, and a payment basket.
Over 1.2 million people use Home’Bank.
To improve online banking security, Retail BE continued the roll-out
of the ING Card Reader in Belgium. In 2011, almost 800,000 card
readers were sent to customers, bringing the total to more than
one million since it was launched in September 2010.
Social networks have become an important part of the banking
landscape. ING BE believes in the power of peer-to-peer advice and
is now present on Facebook, with its ‘minute orange’ concept, and
providing tips and information about its products. The purpose
ofbeing on Facebook is to develop a real community of ING
customers. At the year-end, ING BE’s Facebook page had over
17,000 ‘fans’.
Retail BE also launched two insurance products, ING Lion
Assistance (travel and breakdown insurance) and ING Lion Travel
Stop (travel cancellation insurance). Customers can buy these
products online or at a branch, in a process that takes as little
asthree minutes.
Retail BE continued to use NPS to gauge customer feedback and
improve service. NPS, adopted in Belgium in 2009, is a widely
recognised measure of customer satisfaction and loyalty. The Bank
conducted nine NPS surveys in Belgium in 2011, including one on
opening an ING Lion Account; the number of ING Lion Accounts
increased by 16% in 2011. The Bank also began using NPS for
Mid-Corporate and Private Banking customers in 2011.
Private Banking
Retail BE provides private banking services in Belgium and
Luxembourg to wealthy individuals. Private Banking has a top three
position in Belgium. The unit’s assets under management in
Belgium amounted to EUR 15.5 billion and in Luxembourg to
EUR 6.9 billion at year-end, totalling EUR 22.4 billion. Private
Banking contributed favourably to Retail BE’s overall results, despite
the adverse economic climate.