ING Belgium’s results for first half of 2019
With the ‘Start to app’ week initiative ING Belgium made further efforts towards developing an inclusive digital society during the first half of the year. These efforts have borne fruit. The number of new active mobile users increased by 10% during the first half of the year after setting a record of more than 1 million at the end of 2018.
Further steps were also taken in transforming ING into a single integrated bank in Belgium and the Netherlands. With 11 million customers in both countries served from the same platform, ING will become one of the biggest banking platforms in the Benelux.
As regards the financial results, ING Belgium posted a strong result before tax of € 435 million, 14.4% up on the same period of last year. In the first half of 2019, the increased lending volumes also formed a significant counterweight to the pressure of persistent low interest rates on the result before tax.
Financial update
- Result before tax 1H2019 at € 435 million is up € 55 million or 14.4% versus the same period last year.
- Net Interest Income increases by € 65 million when compared to 1H2018, despite the worsening of the low interest rate environment. Sustainable growth in the loan book at better margins allows for the offset of the income drop in savings and current accounts.
- Operating expenses are down 2.7% versus the same period last year mostly due to lower staff costs.
- Deposits reach a total volume € 105.1 billion, an increase of 3.0% or € 3.1 billion compared to 1H2018.
- Lending volumes end at € 106.4 billion, an increase of 4.6% or € 4.6 billion compared to 1H2018, albeit that growth in 1H2019 is at a slower pace than the growth observed in 2018.
- Risk costs are up € 32 million versus last year’s low level in 1H2018, trending towards their long-term average. Capital ratios and liquidity buffers remain well above the minimum requirements.
Commercial update
The full press release can be found hereunder:
ING Belgium’s results for first half of 2019
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