ING Direct 2006 Annual Report Download - page 8

Strategic priorities
Our fi nancial results demonstrate that our
underlying performance across all business
lines remains strong both in mature and
developing markets. An example of good
performance in mature markets is our
retail banking business in the Netherlands,
which saw healthy growth in savings
and mortgages. Wholesale Banking also
performed well in areas such as structured
fi nance and lease, and ING Real Estate
saw another year of strong growth.
We believe that ING is well positioned to
capitalise on three trends that are globally
reshaping fi nancial services: ageing,
technology and a shift of economic power
from West to East. We are using these
trends to drive our three growth engines:
retirement services, ING Direct and our life
insurance operations in developing markets.
Our results show that these growth
engines are all on good footing. Our
retirement services business in the US
had a successful year, ING Direct was
able to increase profi ts in a challenging
interest rate environment, and our life
insurance business in Asia/Pacifi c posted
a strong rise in the value of new business.
We are also investing in future growth
opportunities in Central Europe and Asia.
Growth across business lines
ING is well positioned in the fi nancial
sector because we are involved in banking,
insurance and asset management. All of
our businesses are strong and successful
in their own right, but they create
additional value together as we can
allocate our capital across businesses and
client segments in ways that generate the
highest growth and return. We leverage
value from this combination in two ways.
First, there is a convergence when it comes
to savings and pensions. ING can maximise
this overlap through products and sales
expertise, thereby empowering customers
with products they need to manage their
own fi nancial future.
Second, the combination allows us to
diversify our risk across banking and
insurance. Increased risk diversifi cation
brings capital benefi ts because lower
requirements for risk-based solvency capital
translate into higher returns on equity.
ING also centralised its capital
management in 2006, which makes
it possible to better balance the
requirements of shareholders, rating
agencies and regulators. Centralised risk
and capital management allow for greater
strategic fl exibility and the freedom to
invest capital in places where it generates
the highest return.
A balanced business portfolio
In 2006, ING created value
by focusing on profi table
growth and excellence in
execution. The consistent and
successful implementation of
this strategy has led to strong
fi nancial results. It has also
rewarded our shareholders
with a substantially higher
total return on investment
than the average of that of
our peers over the past three
years. A successful strategy can
only succeed if we continue
to build on the momentum
of profi table growth and if
costs, risk and reputation are
properly managed.
Who we are
continued
ING Group Annual Review 20066