ING Netherlands Insights
Combining ING’s global expertise with local market knowledge, we deliver analysis, thought leadership and client-focused insights that help businesses stay informed and navigate an ever-changing financial landscape.
News and announcements
For much of the past decade, business leaders have been forced to navigate a succession of disruptions that few could have predicted: a pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, supply-chain breakdowns and market volatility. Yet despite this relentless uncertainty, executives at the Netherlands' largest companies express confidence in their organisations' resilience. Is that confidence justified? Yes, but not entirely, says Juliette van Enckevort, Global Lead of Land Transport and Head of Transport & Logistics at ING Netherlands. This article examines what has genuinely shifted, and where dangerous blind spots remain.
Resilience in the age of polycrisis
Dutch companies will not retreat on sustainability and continue to regard it as a top strategic priority. That is one of the main findings of ING's CEO Survey, conducted at the end of 2025. In this article, Riccardo Papa, Head of ING’s Sustainable Solutions Group in the Netherlands, explains the reasons behind that conviction: sustainability generates not only impact, but returns too. For executives navigating capital allocation, energy costs, and supply chain resilience, the implications and the opportunities are significant. "Companies that can translate their sustainability ambitions into concrete projects and finance them at scale will pull ahead of competitors that cannot."
Why Dutch executives continue to invest in sustainability
AI sits at the top of the executive agenda, promising productivity gains, new business models, and new competitive advantages. But while leaders see AI as both their greatest opportunity and their greatest concern, the resulting infrastructural race doesn’t get enough attention. Data centre capacity, the invisible engine powering AI, is expanding far more slowly in Europe than elsewhere. That widening gap may put Europe's future competitiveness at risk, worries Wim Steenbakkers, ING's head of technology finance (EMEA).
No data centres, no AI champions
Satellites are rapidly becoming critical infrastructure for connectivity, security, data services, and economic resilience. For Dutch companies, not only in the space sector but across many other sectors, this offers ample opportunities. To benefit from these opportunities, Wim Steenbakkers, ING's global head of satellite finance, calls for a collective agenda supported by public funding and a more outward-looking entrepreneurial mindset.
The expanding space economy: strategic opportunities for the Dutch space sector - and far beyond
While Europe's economy remains stuck in neutral, European corporations will be facing an uncertain future. ING’s Carsten Brzeski, Head of Global Macro, and Bert Colijn, Chief Economist (Netherlands), offer their assessment of what may come next for a continent facing urgent choices on reform, investment, and strategic autonomy.
Europe at a crossroads - the fragile future of European growth
Understanding the U.S. economic outlook may never have been more critical for European business leaders. For James Knightley, ING's Chief International Economist based in New York, these are therefore paradoxical times. His insights are in higher demand than ever before, yet nobody expects him to get it right all the time.
Conditions for doing business with the U.S. have permanently changed
Today’s global landscape is especially dynamic. From China’s emerging consumer market to India’s new trade agreements, European firms have a chance to capitalise on sectors that are aligning across continents. ING’s Chief Economists Lynn Song and Deepali Bhargava share their insights on the sectors and strategies that could shape Europe’s advantage.
Europe’s window of opportunity in Asia
Global markets, geopolitical shifts, and economic trends rarely move in sync. Every market seems to be pulling in a different direction – and the companies and markets that understand the dynamics and underlying forces hold the advantage.
Navigating geopolitical and economic turbulence
Sometimes it’s a challenge, other times it accelerates progress. In Supply Chain Chat, we interview clients and suppliers about their experiences with sustainability. We discuss issues within their chains, across their sectors, and beyond. What is working, what are the friction points, and what lessons endure?
Collaborating on scope 3: How Dura Vermeer and Isovlas drive CO₂ reduction together
Failing to adapt to the energy transition? Not an option. That’s why green electricity is often the preferred solution, says Gerben Hieminga, Economic Research Strategist at ING. “But things like electric vehicles or heat pumps come with limitations—the number one being grid congestion.” So what’s the way forward?
The energy transition: Progress over perfection
Europe's export-driven economies are under siege on two fronts. There's Trump's trade war. And then there's China, sprinting ahead. Many companies are feeling the consequences. Can Europe survive? ING's Global Head of Macro, Carsten Brzeski, says yes. But there's a big ‘if'.
Caught between Trump and China: can Europe survive?
Lagardère Travel Retail is one of the world's leading travel retail operators with over 5,120 shops in 42 countries. Then there's the Royal Schiphol Group, owner and, inter alia, operator of the Netherlands’ national airport. Two global players with ambition. So when Schiphol approached us to facilitate the sale of a 70% stake in their core retail activities to Lagardère, ING Corporate Finance was eager to take this challenge on.
Uniting two global players: how ING facilitated the sale of a 70% stake in Schiphol's core retail activities
