As announced in the press, ING is taking part in the economic stabilisation programme put in place by the Luxembourg government in order to help both business and professional customers whose activities are impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. ING participates in the moratorium on existing loan repayments and in granting state-guaranteed new loans. For more information please refer to our website.

2019 financial results: a very good year close to previous record year

2019 was another excellent year for ING in Luxembourg: fuelled by a new record income level of EUR 321 million (+2%), ING recorded an underlying net result of EUR 116 million (+ 1%) after paying taxes in the amount of EUR 37 million. Careful cost management kept the cost-income ratio at a healthy 51%. ING’s solvency remained strong at 26%, well above the regulatory minimum.

The Bank’s strategy to deliver a differentiating customer experience materialised in a continued increase in primary bank clients: 44% of our clients choose ING as their main bank. ING’s clients are more than willing to recommend ING to their family and friends as demonstrated by the strong Net Promoter Score (NPS®) results in 2019: +40 for Private Banking, +29 for Wholesale Banking and +29 for Retail Banking clients.

2019 was marked by an internal change in the Delivery organisation: the traditional setup product development-marketing-IT was supplanted by an agile organisation in multidisciplinary, flexible teams that make it possible to respond more quickly to customer feedback to improve the customer experience. ING’s One Agile Way of Working is more than a new organization: it is a cultural shift from formal meetings, over-engineering, and excessive “input steering” to empowered teams, informal networks and “output steering”.

The fundamental force shaping the financial services sector is digitisation. More than 80 percent of our customer interactions are through mobile devices. Over a third of our customers interact with us through a mobile device. Digitisation is also increasingly an integral part of the Wholesale Banking client service: we saw growth in the number of clients using our virtual cash management, which allows companies with local accounts to manage their cash position via a single master account.

Digitisation is not only profoundly influencing customer preferences and expectations, but also the competitive landscape. As with all disruptive change, it presents both opportunities and threats – one increasingly urgent example is the growing threat of financial economic crime. Keeping the bank safe in that context was the first priority of 2019.

Retail Banking: a customer experience built on direct feedback

The network of Retail Banking branches remained unchanged: 16 branches across the Grand-Duchy to serve our clients, supported by a central Contact Center. The financial results in 2019 were good: despite a very low interest rate environment, the Retail Banking activity delivered higher income than in 2018 driven mainly by the growth of the mortgage portfolio (+13%).

In 2019 we reviewed the Know Your Customer (KYC) documentation of 12% of the client portfolio, we launched the Customer Experience Day (a high impact exercise with multidisciplinary teams to improve the client experience, like the feedback loop on app stores) and we actively sought feedback from our clients: through special sessions on specific customer journeys and through NPS®, for which we received again a high recommendation rate of +29.

Private Banking: towards sustainable investments

Private Banking continued investing its ING Aria range of funds in ESG (environment, social, governance) assets throughout 2019: ING Aria Lion and ING Aria Global Index Portfolio have respectively 33% and 100% of their assets under management invested in ESG assets. . ING Sustainable Bonds, which invests only in socially responsible investments (SRI) and issuers with the best ESG practices, was rewarded by the prestigious LuxFLAG ESG label in 2019.

Even with the numerous regulatory challenges and the review of the Bank’s business risk appetite, which required ending certain client relationships, satisfaction among Private Banking customers reached a record high of +40 NPS®.

ING’s strong emphasis on improving client experiences through technology also in private banking was awarded with the “Best initiative of the year in relationship management technology in Europe” by a jury of 10 market leaders in the PWM Wealth Tech Awards 2019.

ING Solutions Investment Management (abbreviated ISIM), the Luxembourg management company of ING created in 2014, reached a record EUR 12 billion in assets under management last year. It currently manages out of Luxembourg funds that are distributed in 5 European countries.

Wholesale Banking: catering to the needs of local actors

Continuing the trend of the past few years, Wholesale Banking posted an excellent performance again in 2019: the rise in results is driven by the development of commercial relations with Private Equity firms, regulated and non-regulated funds, as well as real estate companies.

The year was also marked by the reviewed risk appetite and business model with a focus on servicing companies and institutions based in Luxembourg in a safe and compliant manner.

The lending activity was driven by Capital Call Financing granted to local investment funds: a bridge lending facility developed in Luxembourg in collaboration with other ING entities, illustrating the capabilities that a group like ING can offer to local actors.

Last but not least, the quality of service and the competitiveness of our staff have resulted in a jump of 10 points in the recommendation rate of our Wholesale Banking clients (NPS® 2019 at +29).

Engaging with the community

At ING we believe our responsibility goes beyond the strict limits of our business. We build sustainable partnerships with major players in the sport and cultural sectors. These partnerships provide valuable interactions which allow us to strengthen our image and bring us closer to our customers. At the same time, our partners receive financial and material support to further develop their projects.

In 2019 we supported new projects like the digital art exhibition “Multiplica” of our neighbour’s Rotondes, the music festival “Siren’s Call” organised by l’Atelier and hosted by our long-term partner Neimënster Abbey and the first TEDx Luxembourg City Women event.

ING’s purpose to empower people to stay a step ahead in life and in business includes offering staff well-being and personal development workshops, health check-ups and other activities. It also means a commitment to the community by participating in D’Woch vun de Suen, offering financial information and insights emanating from the ING International Surveys, and being among the first sponsors of the Luxembourg Pride.

The issue of climate change acquired increased urgency in 2019. Since we moved to our headquarters ING Lux House, across from Luxembourg’s central train station, more than 80% of our staff uses public transportation or comes to the office on foot or cycling. By banning plastic cups we have stopped using 440,000 disposable cups per year .

Colette Dierick, CEO of ING Luxembourg, comments: “2019 was an intense year with a difficult mix of low interest rates and a review of our business risk appetite. Yet we achieved solid commercial and financial results with a three-percent growth in primary bank clients and a two-percent growth in income.

Once again, our efforts were rewarded with growth in the trust our clients place on us and their willingness to recommend our services to others. This confirms we are delivering on our purpose to empower people to stay a step ahead in life and in business.

The world in 2020 already looks completely different than 2019. In these uncertain times, we are more than ever committed to play our vital role in the local economy with digital channels that ensure close contact and with our participation in the program of the Luxembourg government!”