ING Direct 2013 Annual Report Download - page 7

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
Simpler
Stronger
Sustainable
We entered the final phase of our restructuring
programme in 2013. We successfully listed ING U.S.
onthe New York Stock Exchange. We also largely
completed our Asian insurance and investment
management divestment programme. Furthermore,
wehave made significant progress in preparing our
European and Japanese insurance and investment
management business for an IPO (initial public offering)
as a base case in 2014.
A new brand for our insurance and investment
management businesses was announced in October: NN.
NNInvestment Partners will be the future name for
Investment Management. Nationale-Nederlanden Bank
in the Netherlands significantly expanded its operations
and raised its profile after some parts of
WestlandUtrecht Bank had been integrated with
Nationale-Nederlanden Bank. Furthermore, we reached
an agreement with the Dutch State about the
settlement of the Alt-A facility – which we completed in
February 2014 – and we are also well on our way to
repaying the core Tier 1 securities in full.
We also had to take some painful but necessary
decisions to divest businesses and lay off people.
However, our employees kept on supporting our
customers and delivering them the exceptional service
they deserve.
In anticipation of tougher capital requirements we have
strengthened our capital position, but if these
requirements are tightened further, our ability to lend
to the economy may come under pressure and this
willat the same time affect our global competitive
position. Moreover, we are pushing for a European level
playing field to guarantee a robust competitive position
for banks.
We are a customer-centric organisation, but that does
not mean that we always execute what the customer
wants us to do. That may sound contradictory. We have
a duty of care to provide customers with the correct
information and to ensure we really act in their interest.
Another dilemma is striking a fair balance between the
interests of our customers, employees, shareholders
and society at large. The interests and requirements of
our various stakeholders are not always compatible and
sometimes even conflicting. This often makes it difficult
and challenging to satisfy everybody, which is why we
are in constant dialogue with all our stakeholders to
listen and to give them an insight into how we operate
and manage our company.
In spite of the weak economic climate, we have seen
animprovement in the operating performance in 2013
of both the bank and the insurance business.
We have also significantly strengthened our capital
andliquidity positions, ensuring we meet the new and
tougher national and international supervisory and
regulatory requirements.
These steps have given us greater control over our
future as a bank, as well as the standalone future of the
insurance business. We have emerged as a stronger
company, as well as a less complex one.
We have simplified our business significantly, reducing
our product offering and streamlining processes to
drive down costs and make our services and products
quicker and easier to use.
We have made great headway in 2013 and are well
positioned for 2014 and onwards. ING Bank is a major
player in its European domestic markets, such as the
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland,
Romania and Turkey, and in Asia. We have a presence
in more than 40 countries, allowing us to support
global businesses. NN Group today is a leading,
predominantly European insurance and investment
management company with a strong presence in 18
countries.
We are busy redefining what kind of bank and what
kind of insurance business we want to be, what more
we can do to help our customers get ahead, and what
we can contribute to society. We are aware that we are
not there yet and there is still a lot of work to do, but
Iam proud of what we have achieved so far.
Today’s ING is different from yesterday’s ING. The
future will bring even more change. That change and
our future are in our own hands. With a refined and
sharpened strategy for ING Bank to be presented in
thefirst half of 2014 and a scheduled IPO base case for
the insurance and investment management business,
2014 is set to be an important year for ING and all our
stakeholders.
Ralph Hamers
Chief Executive Officer of ING Group
March 2014
5ING Group Annual Report 2013