ING Direct 2009 Annual Report Download - page 18

continue to build our brand around a universal ideal of delivering
an easier customer experience.
A LEADER IN INTERNATIONAL RETAIL, DIRECT
AND COMMERCIAL BANKING
The bank of tomorrow should be effective at attracting customer
savings, especially as there is expected to be a revival of traditional
savings banks with lower risk appetites in response to the
unprecedented events of the past two years. ING’s product offering
therefore needs to become less complicated. At the same time it
remains our ambition to provide high quality banking products
that meet the expectations of our customers without doing harm
to people or the environment and that are easy to access and
understand. We will strive for strong and defendable market
positions, a trusted brand and a strong marketing organisation.
ING has a promising starting position. We are one of the largest
savings banks in the world and our funding base is strong. We have
a leading position in our home markets and our direct banking
model is based on efficiency and innovative distribution, which are
reflected in a low cost base and high customer satisfaction rates.
On these strong foundations, we aim to build a leading retail, direct
and commercial bank, anchored in the Benelux and predominantly
focused on Europe with attractive growth options in Central
Europe, Turkey and selected markets throughout Asia. ING will
build on its global presence and international network and
capitalise on its leadership position in gathering savings, multi-
channel distribution, simple propositions and marketing, in
particular through ING Direct. Cost leadership, superior customer
service, innovative distribution and good corporate citizenship
will be the key levers for our future development.
Although the actions needed to ensure success will vary across
regions and product lines, we can already determine the main
features for each business line:
• Retail Banking: The transformation programmes in The
Netherlands and Belgium will be continued to enhance customer
centricity, streamline the business, reduce costs in our branch
networks, expand our distribution capabilities and enhance
cross-selling of different products to retail customers.
Accordingly, ING will further simplify its product lines in the
rest of Europe and Asia and use its experience in direct banking
to expand its innovative distribution platforms.
ING Direct:• We will continue to serve the needs of our
customers by delivering simple and transparent retail banking
products at attractive prices and further strengthen our
competitive advantage through excellent service and cutting
edge distribution capabilities ensuring maximum convenience.
We will further deepen customer relationships and offer an even
more complete range of products and services.
• Commercial Banking: We will serve large corporations in the
Benelux and Central Europe by offering a full range of products,
from cash management to corporate finance. Across our
international network, we will pursue a more selective approach.
We will concentrate on creating cost advantages by leveraging
local scale and reducing costs through IT and process
improvement. Cross-selling efforts will be increased and we will
capitalise on our expertise in fixed-income products in emerging
markets to further strengthen our financial markets business.
REPAYING THE DUTCH STATE
In October 2008 and January 2009 we entered into transactions
with the Dutch State: the first time to strengthen our capital
position and the second time to mitigate risk. In the fourth
quarter of 2009 we took action to start repaying this support.
Through our rights issue we have successfully raised EUR 7.5 billion
of new capital, which enabled us to repay EUR 5 billion of the core
Tier 1 securities, representing half of the core Tier 1 securities, plus
accrued coupon from 12 May 2009 to 20 December 2009 of EUR
259 million and a repayment premium of EUR 346 million. In
addition, the capital raised provided us with sufficient buffer to
offset the negative capital impact of the additional payments to be
made for the Illiquid Assets Back-up Facility (for more information
please refer to the section ‘ING and the financial environment’).
SHAPING OUR FUTURE
Over the coming years ING will focus on its position as a leading
international retail, direct and commercial bank, while ensuring
a bright future for our insurance businesses. We will focus on
superior customer satisfaction, a strong financial performance,
leading operating efficiency and a solid capital position. The entire
restructuring process, including the divestments, is scheduled to
be completed by the end of 2013.
2010 will be a year of transition, and it will not be without
challenges, as we work towards the operational separation of the
banking and insurance businesses. We will approach this process
with the utmost care and diligence to ensure an orderly and
equitable separation. At the same time we will continue to work
to improve the performance of both parts of the business for our
customers and shareholders, by rationalising our product offering,
simplifying our processes and investing in further improvements
in customer service. Through this process we will create strong
and independent companies that can go forward to forge their
own futures.
While implementing the strategic changes, we will do our utmost
to maintain the confidence of our stakeholders and be a good
corporate citizen. Only by acting with professionalism and integrity
will we be able to maintain our stakeholders’ trust and preserve our
Company’s reputation. Our Business Principles play an important
role in this respect, as they clearly prescribe the corporate values
we pursue in both Banking and Insurance and the responsibilities
we have towards society and the environment: we act with
integrity, we are open and clear, we respect each other and we
are socially and environmentally responsible. Throughout our entire
organisation, we will promote people-oriented leadership and drive
for excellence, as we are extremely proud of our highly skilled and
engaged employees.
ING always aims to earn its customers’ trust by delivering financial
products and services in the way they want them delivered: with
exemplary service and convenience provided at attractive prices.
Our customers expect us to be available when they need us, to
provide them with a clear overview of their financial situation, to
respond to their queries in a fast and efficient way, to be open
and transparent about our products and services and to provide
them with objective and professional advice. We strive to meet
these expectations by providing the right products and services
to the right customers for the right returns. Consequently, we will
Strategy (continued)
1.2 Report of the Executive Board
ING Group Annual Report 2009
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