ING reports Q1 net loss

Published: 15-May-2009

Insurance business lines impacted by falling asset prices, net loss E824m

ING Group has reported a net loss of E793m, or loss per share of E0.39, for the first quarter of 2009, compared to a net income of E1.54 billion, or income per share of E0.74, for the corresponding quarter of 2008.

For the first quarter of 2009, underlying net loss was E305m, compared to underlying net income of E1.57 billion for the same quarter of 2008. Underlying loss before tax for the first quarter of 2009 was E281m, compared to underlying profit before tax of E2.09 billion for the same quarter of 2008.

The group's banking underlying net profit was E519m for the first quarter of 2009, a decrease of 47.6% compared to E991m for the same quarter of 2008. Insurance underlying net loss for the first quarter of 2009 was E824m, compared to underlying net income of E575m for the same quarter of 2008.

Total assets of the group were E1.27 trillion as of March 31, 2009, compared to E1.33 trillion as of December 31, 2008.

Jan Hommen, CEO at ING, said: Market volatility continued to weigh on ING's results, however de-risking and cost-containment measures helped mitigate part of the impact. The underlying net loss narrowed substantially to E305m in the first quarter from E3.07 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008.

All three banking business lines contributed to an underlying net profit of E519m despite rising risk costs. Income from the banking business recovered almost to the level of the first quarter of 2008, supported by good financial markets results.

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