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ING Bank 1Q15 underlying net result EUR 1,187 million, up 43.0% from 1Q14 and more than double that of 4Q14

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1Q15 results driven by robust growth in the lending book and a seasonally strong fi rst quarter at Financial Markets

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Risk costs amounted to 58 basis points (bps) of average risk-weighted assets, versus 65 bps in 1Q14 and 54 bps in 4Q14

ING Group 1Q15 net result EUR 1,769 million (EUR 0.46 per share) including Insurance results

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Continued progress on strategic repositioning: NN stake reduced to 54.6%, Voya divestment completed, Vysya merger closed

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NN share sale had EUR -1.8 billion impact on shareholders` equity; EUR 1.8 billion Voya sale proceeds eliminated double leverage

Capital position strengthened significantly from 4Q14; surplus in place for regulation and to pay attractive dividends

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Strong fully-loaded CET1 ratios: Group ratio rose to 11.6%; Bank ratio stable at 11.4% despite EUR 1 billion dividend to Group

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Total capital level augmented by successful USD 2.25 billion inaugural Additional Tier 1 (AT1) securities issuance in April 2015

CEO statement

"During the first quarter, ING made notable progress on innovation and finding even better ways to empower our customers," said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group. "In addition to introducing several Retail Banking innovations, we are gradually rolling out our digital Commercial Banking platform, called InsideBusiness, after its recent successful pilot. InsideBusiness will provide clients with a single point of access to all of their Commercial Banking products and services, such as payments and cash management, trade finance and lending. It provides real-time information and customised reporting, and can be accessed 24/7 from any mobile device. It is another prime example of how we are pioneering technologies that keep us at the forefront of modern banking."

"The inspiration behind such ideas comes from customer feedback and our employees, who are enthusiastic about creating solutions that help our customers to stay a step ahead. Our employees submitted over 1,800 ideas during our second annual Innovation Bootcamp, which aims to increase the pace of innovation at ING. The top 20 ideas are now being further developed. The first Innovation Bootcamp in 2014 generated 774 ideas, of which seven received funding and support to be launched commercially. One of them is Direct Lease, an online leasing platform that will help small and medium-sized enterprises at every step of the leasing cycle. A first version of Direct Lease was tested with clients in the first quarter and it will be launched this year."

"ING Bank`s first-quarter underlying result before tax was EUR 1,661 million, up 41.2% year-on-year and more than double the result in the previous quarter. This strong performance was achieved despite the challenging operating environment, characterised by unprecedented low interest rates and the uneven economic recovery. In adapting to these circumstances, we have been obliged to reduce savings rates as we continue to offer affordable and competitive borrowing. During the quarter, we attracted EUR 13.6 billion of net customer deposits and our core lending franchises grew by EUR 6.9 billion. Income was robust, reflecting our commercial growth and a seasonally strong quarter at Financial Markets. Income was also supported by capital gains, positive results from hedge ineffectiveness, and currency effects. Risk costs declined year-on-year, but rose sequentially. We maintained our focus on cost discipline; nevertheless, regulatory costs weighed on our expense base."

"We continued to simplify our business portfolio through several actions in the past few months: the reduction of our stake in NN Group to 54.6%, the completion of the divestment of Voya, and the completion in April of the merger between ING Vysya Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank which accelerated our vision for Vysya. The net profit from the Voya share sale is included in ING Group`s first-quarter net result of EUR 1,769 million while the impact of the NN share sale is reflected in shareholders` equity."

"Our capital position strengthened significantly since year-end. ING Group`s fully-loaded CET1 ratio increased to 11.6%, refl ecting the quarterly net profit and capital relief from the NN and Voya share sales. ING Bank`s fully-loaded CET1 ratio was stable at 11.4% due to a EUR 1.0 billion dividend upstream to Group. We maintain a prudent approach to capital allocation and funding in both entities, and have a substantial surplus in place for evolving regulatory requirements and to return capital through an attractive dividend. In early April, we completed our very successful inaugural AT1 bond issuance, which augmented our total capital level."

"Our achievements in this quarter demonstrate that our Think Forward strategy is on track. I am confident that ING is well placed for the future and that our capabilities as a leading European bank will continue to empower our customers around the world."

Further information

All publications related to ING`s 1Q15 results can be found at www.ing.com/1q15, including a video interview with Ralph Hamers, which is also available at YouTube.



Additional financial information is available at www.ing.com/qr:

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Investor conference call, media conference call and webcasts

Ralph Hamers, Patrick Flynn and Wilfred Nagel will discuss the results in an analyst and investor conference call on 7 May 2015 at 9:00 a.m. CET. Members of the investment community can join the conference call at +31 20 794 8500 (NL), +44 20 7190 1537 (UK) or +1 480 629 9031 (US) and via live audio webcast at www.ing.com.

Ralph Hamers, Patrick Flynn and Wilfred Nagel will also discuss the results in a Media Conference call conference on 7 May 2015 at 10:30 a.m. CET. Journalists are welcome to join the conference call via +31 20 531 5871 (NL) or +44 203 365 3210 (UK). The Media conference call can also be followed via live audio webcast at www.ing.com or via Periscope via ING`s Twitter handle @ING_news.