ING Germany completes agile transformation with growth in customers and earnings

• Earnings before taxes rise slightly to EUR 1.352 billion in 2019 (2018: EUR 1.322 billion)
• Transformation to become Germany’s first bank with fully agile structures completed
• Number of current accounts increases to 2.8 million, number of total clients to 9.5 million
• Current accounts with a minimum monthly income of EUR 700 will remain free of charge in 2020

Frankfurt am Main – ING Germany has concluded a year of radical change with strong business results. The bank, which has been operating with completely agile structures and applying agile working methods for several months now, achieved pre-tax earnings of EUR 1.352 billion in 2019 (2018: EUR 1.322 billion).

“In 2019, we showed that we are capable and willing to implement change as an organisation," says Nick Jue, CEO of ING Germany and Head of Region Germany. “The fact that we have also succeeded in achieving a very good result and have grown again in almost all areas is down to the enormous commitment of all ING Germany employees.” The number of the bank’s employees rose to 4,125 in 2019 (2018: 3,985). With Interhyp included, ING employed 5,561 people in Germany and Austria in 2019 (2018: 5,353).

The number of current accounts held at ING Germany has grown again. At the end of 2019, the bank managed 2.8 million current accounts, which is around 358,000 or 15 percent more than in the previous year (2018: 2.5 million). In 2019, the current account was once more the most important entry product and is increasingly becoming the starting point for an in-depth customer relationship.

Despite the persistent low-interest-rate environment, customer deposits in savings and current accounts rose slightly in 2019. The total portfolio volume at the end of the fiscal year was around EUR 139 billion (previous year: EUR 138 billion).

In the consumer credit area, the bank achieved growth of eight percent in 2019, which amounts to a portfolio volume of almost EUR 9.0 billion (2018: EUR 8.2 billion) at the end of 2019. In the mortgage lending segment, the volume grew by around three percent to EUR 75.3 billion (2018: 72.9 billion). The volume of mortgages brokered by Germany’s largest residential mortgage broker increased by 12 percent and amounted to EUR 25 billion (2018: EUR 22 billion).

In 2019 ING Germany further expanded its range of securities savings plans. The securities segment also benefited from the positive general market trend. The volume of securities accounts increased by almost EUR 11 billion to EUR 45.7 billion (2018: EUR 34.8 billion). The number of transactions again exceeded the 10 million mark and reached a new record of 11.5 million.

The cooperation with the online asset manager Scalable Capital also contributed to the positive overall result in 2019: More than 14,400 ING customers opened a securities account, bringing the volume to a total of EUR 1.2 billion assets under management at the end of the year (2018: EUR 0.6 billion).

Digital lending to small and medium-sized enterprises via the Lendico credit platform made very good progress in 2019. The loan volume brokered in 2019 was around EUR 95.2 million at the end of 2019. This corresponds to an average growth rate of more than 30 percent per month.

While lending growth in the Wholesale Banking segment declined slightly in 2019, revenues in the past fiscal year were 588 million euros, four percent above the previous year.

Following very strong new business development in the previous year, which paid off in 2019, ING Germany was more selective in its new business origination in 2019 which was lower than in the previous year. Growing customer relationships and stable margins in the lending business also had a positive effect on earnings growth

In 2019, ING Germany again recorded strong gross growth with 559,000 new bank customers. Adjusted for inactive accounts and expired financing arrangements, the number of customers rose by a net 215.000 to a total of 9.5 million. The number of primary customers (with a payroll account plus another product) grew by more than 14 percent to 1.82 million (2018: 1.59 million).

In the current competitive environment, building customer relationships that are active and consequently long-term is increasingly becoming a success factor,” says Nick Jue. “This makes the positive development in the number of our primary bank customers all the more gratifying. It is proof that we are on the right track.

The current account will remain the core product of ING Germany in 2020 and will be free of charge, provided that a regular monthly income at minimum of 700 euros is received. Customers under 28 years of age and customers with a basic account (“Basiskonto”) are excluded from this regulation. According to the current status, the current account remains free of charge for three quarters of the customers. If none of the conditions is fulfilled, EUR 4.90 per month will be charged as of May 2020.
 

Nick Jue:

Our goal is to enter into an active customer relationship with all current account customers. For inactive customers, the new model provides an incentive for them to get to know us as a fully digital primary bank. This year, we want to work even more closely with our customers and increasingly become their first point of contact for all financial matters.

With more than 9.5 million customers, we are Germany’s third-largest bank. Our core products are current accounts, mortgages, savings, consumer loans and brokerage. In lending to small and medium-sized companies, we work with the online platform Lendico, and in Wholesale Banking we offer banking services for large, internationally operating companies. With over 4,000 colleagues, we are represented in Frankfurt (headquarters), Hanover, Nuremberg and Vienna.

Founded in 1999 and steadily growing, Interhyp is Germany’s largest residential mortgage broker. Interhyp’s advisors are specialists in private residential mortgages. They work together with their customers to develop the financing structure that most perfectly suits their needs. They can access the offers of around 500 lenders and arrange the best conditions.

Disclaimer: 
All the information about ING Germany provided here is based on the preliminary IFRS-consolidated financial statements of ING Holding Deutschland GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, which are yet to be audited. Deviations from the information published by ING Group N.V. about the German region are mainly the result of ING Group’s internal charges. Forecasts or expectations expressed in this publication entail uncertainties. The announcement reflects the status at the time of publication. Forward-looking statements relate only to the date on which they are made. We assume no obligation to update such statements in light of new information or future events.