ING Direct 2015 Annual Report Download - page 21

Contents
Who we are
Report of the
Management
Board
Corporate
Governance
Consolidated
annual accounts
Parent company
annual accounts
Other
information
Additional
information
The Supervisory Board held nine meetings in 2015.
Important topics on the agenda were the execution of the
bank’s Think Forward strategy and developments in the
regulatory and external supervision landscape.
The committees of the Supervisory Board discussed a range
of subjects, the main ones being the quarterly results,
corporate governance, risk management and human
resources.
Supervisory Board meetings
The Supervisory Board met nine times in 2015. On
average, 99 percent of the Supervisory Board members
were present at the meetings. This attendance rate illustrates
that the members of the Supervisory Board are engaged with
ING and are able to devote sufficient time and attention to
ING’ s affairs. The Management Board Banking was present
during each Supervisory Board meeting. For part of the
meetings only the Chief Executive Officer was present; this
was dependent on the nature of the topics addressed. Each
Supervisory Board meeting was preceded by a session with
only the Supervisory Board members present. The members
of the Supervisory Board also interacted with senior
management outside the regular Supervisory Board meetings
for discussion and information sharing purposes.
The Management Board Banking has prepared the annual
accounts for ING Bank N.V. and discussed these with the
Supervisory Board.
Apart from closely monitoring the financial results
in 2015, the Supervisory Board’ s main focus points
during 2015 were the execution of the bank’s Think
Forward strategy that was launched in 2014 and the
developments in the regulatory and external supervision
landscape.
Permanent education
The key themes of this year’s annual recurring
Supervisory Board Knowledge Day in January 2015 were
operations & IT and sustainability. On the agenda were
presentations about the COO vision, cloud computing,
IT security in general, IT stability in the Netherlands
and ING’s sustainability direction. The Supervisory
Board was also updated on ING’s annual talent review
achievements and developments including a trend
analysis summary.
In September 2015, the Supervisory Board visited ING
Bank’s US offices in New York and Houston for three
days, allowing the Supervisory Board to get a better
understanding of the local business activities and
how these relate and contribute to ING’s strategy.
Presentations included the ING US strategy and the
business in general and the Structured Finance and
Natural Resources businesses in particular. In addition
to the opportunity to discuss the US business and
challenges with the local ING US teams, the Supervisory
Board members also met with various clients. A number
of other educational sessions on specific topics were
organised for the Supervisory Board throughout the year,
including ones addressing various developments in the
regulatory and external supervision landscape.
Corporate strategy
In January 2015, the Supervisory Board held its meeting
on ING’s strategy as well as the Medium-Term Plan
(MTP) 2015-2017. The MTP addresses the plans and
the financial and non-financial targets for the Bank as
a whole. The Supervisory Board specifically discussed the
growth ambitions for ING Bank in combination with continued
efficiency improvement initiatives, taking into account
the compressed interest rate environment and margin
pressure. The Supervisory Board approved the MTP.
The main objectives for the Bank was to maintain a strong
capital position. During the year, the Supervisory Board was
updated on the progress in this area.
The Supervisory Board received an in-depth update
on the status of the bank’s Think Forward strategy
implementation in February and August 2015. During
the other Supervisory Board meetings, specific
elements of the strategy were discussed, ranging from
potential future (in)organic growth opportunities to the
introduction of innovative, digital solutions for ING’s
customers. Specific attention was also paid to the major
themes and programmes in the COO and IT domains
whose aim it is to introduce a globally standardised and
agile way of working supported by a corresponding IT
infrastructure and applications environment.
Financial and risk reporting
The fourth quarter and annual financial results for
2014 (and 2015) were discussed in February 2015 (and
February 2016 respectively). This included the related
press release and reports from the external auditors.
The Management Board Banking’s assessment of the
adequacy and effectiveness of the risk management and
control systems was also discussed.
The quarterly results were reviewed and discussed in May,
August and November 2015 with the external auditor being
able to issue an unqualified review opinion on the financial
results.The publication on the 2014 application of the Dutch
Banking Code was also discussed and approved.
The Supervisory Board approved the annual review
of the risk appetite framework that was updated to
reflect recent regulatory changes. Throughout the
year, the Supervisory Board was informed in detail on
the potential risks for ING relating to the political and
economic situation in various countries such as Russia,
Ukraine, Greece, Turkey and China.
Report of the Supervisory
Board
ING Bank Annual Report 2015 19