ING posts 1Q2023 net result of €1,591 million with strong income growth and modest risk costs

“The year 2023 got off to a good start, as we recorded a strong first quarter,” said ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk. “Our results confirm the strength of our diversified business model with a growing client franchise. Our solid capital position, diversified funding profile and sound risk management enabled us to continue supporting our customers and the broader economy.

“During this quarter, marked by turbulent market conditions, clients continued to put their trust in us. This was evidenced by our stable and diversified deposit base, which grew by €1.3 billion in the quarter. Another key element for future value creation is increasing the number of primary customers, as this provides us with opportunities to deepen our client relationships. I’m pleased that our primary customer base grew by 106,000 to 14.7 million during this quarter, with a strong contribution from our franchise in Germany.

“Financially, we benefited from the current interest rate environment. Our income was 21 percent higher than a year ago, supported by improved margins on liabilities. Wholesale Banking had a particularly good quarter, with a strong income contribution from daily banking and good results in Financial Markets. Expenses increased on the back of salary raises and higher marketing expenses to support the growth of our business. Quarter-on-quarter, the inflationary effects were less pronounced, but we will keep a close eye on expenses to stay competitive. Risk costs were modest, reflecting the quality of our loan book and including some releases from earlier provisions.

“Offering customers a superior experience is a pillar of our ‘making the difference’ strategy. An example of how we’re making our services more accessible is a voice functionality on our app in the Netherlands that allows visually impaired people to carry out mobile payments independently and safely. And in Germany the online identity card function is making onboarding faster and more convenient. Already used by up to 20 percent of new customers to identify themselves, it is scalable and efficient due to its fully digital nature. In terms of key performance indicators, we retain a leading NPS position in five of our 10 Retail markets, we rate above 4.5 stars in iOS and Android App stores in eight and five countries respectively, and more than 72 percent of customer communications were personalised in the first quarter.

“The other pillar of our ‘making the difference’ strategy is to put sustainability at the heart of what we do. We aim to facilitate and finance society’s shift to a low-carbon future by supporting our clients in their transitions. In the first quarter of 2023, we closed 98 sustainability transactions and achieved a volume of sustainable finance mobilised of €21.9 billion year-to-date.

“Last year we became the first global bank to restrict project financing of new ‘upstream’ projects for the exploration and extraction of new oil and gas fields. In March this year, we announced that we will further expand this approach to ‘midstream’ (oil & gas infrastructure) activities. We also aim to reduce the volumes of the traded oil and gas that we finance. At the same time, we aim to increase the annual amount that we lend to renewables. I’m pleased that ING was ranked in the top-10 of leading global lenders in clean energy in 2022.

“Overall, our first-quarter results reflect the outstanding work of our employees worldwide, who bring our strategy into action each day. I’m proud of how our people have supported our customers and each other in times of need, as we saw after the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and as we continue to see in Ukraine. I’m confident we will continue to deliver value for all our stakeholders.”