ING Groep N.V. (ING): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

As a seasoned investor, how do you value a financial giant like ING Groep N.V., a bank that commands a market capitalization of roughly $72.42 billion as of November 2025, yet operates in a complex, multi-national regulatory environment? This isn't just about massive scale; it is about execution, given their Q3 2025 net result came in at a strong €1,787 million, driven by a strategic pivot that saw fee income surge by 15%. The real story is in the details, like adding over 1.1 million mobile primary customers in the last year alone-a clear signal of their digital-first strategy paying off-but what does that mean for their projected €22.8 billion in total income for the full year 2025? Understanding the history, ownership, and core mechanisms of how ING Groep N.V. makes money is defintely the only way to map its near-term risks and opportunities.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) History

The story of ING Groep N.V. is less about a startup in a garage and more about a strategic consolidation of venerable Dutch financial institutions, a move that created a global powerhouse. You need to understand this origin story because the company's current digital-first focus is a direct, and necessary, reaction to its complex, merger-driven past.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

ING Groep N.V. was officially established in 1991, though its roots trace back to predecessor companies founded as far back as 1743.

Original location

The company has always maintained its headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Founding team members

ING was born from a landmark merger, so there wasn't a single founding team. The formation was driven by the leadership teams of the two merging entities: Nationale-Nederlanden, a major Dutch insurance company, and NMB Postbank Groep, a prominent Dutch bank.

Initial capital/funding

As a merger of two substantial, established companies, ING started with a significant combined asset base from its predecessors, not with initial venture funding. The goal from day one was synergy and scale, combining the strengths of banking and insurance.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

ING's trajectory has been shaped by three major, transformative pivots. These aren't just historical footnotes; they explain why ING operates as a lean, digitally-focused bank today, rather than the sprawling financial conglomerate it once was.

The first big moment was the 1991 fusion of Nationale-Nederlanden and NMB Postbank Groep. This was groundbreaking, creating a financial powerhouse built on the bancassurance model-selling both banking and insurance products under one roof. This synergy defined ING's initial strategy and fueled its early international expansion ambitions.

Then came the 2008 financial crisis. Honestly, that was a near-death experience. The €10 billion capital injection from the Dutch State came with a brutal condition: divestiture. ING was forced to separate its banking and insurance activities, essentially dismantling the bancassurance model it was founded on, reverting it to a primarily banking-focused institution. This was a painful but necessary reset.

The third, and most recent, shift is the aggressive digital-first strategy. This is the new ING. The bank is laser-focused on efficiency and scaling its digital platforms across Europe and Australia. For the first half of the 2025 fiscal year, the net result was a robust €3,130 million, and the Return on Equity (ROE) stood at 13.0%. Plus, fee income grew by a solid 12% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, showing their strategy to diversify revenue is defintely working. The total assets for the group are massive, standing around €1.1 trillion as of Q3 2025.

• The 2008 mandate forced ING to shed its insurance and asset management units, simplifying its structure and paving the way for the current banking-only focus.
• The 'Think Forward' strategy, launched around 2016, centralized IT and operations, cutting costs and enabling the rapid, consistent rollout of digital banking products globally.
• As of Q3 2025, ING adjusted its Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio target to around 13%, a clear sign of its strong regulatory capital position and confidence in its balance sheet.

If you want to dig into how this history affects the current shareholder base, you should check out Exploring ING Groep N.V. (ING) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

ING Groep N.V. (ING) Ownership Structure

ING Groep N.V. operates with a highly dispersed ownership structure, typical of a major publicly-traded financial institution, where no single entity holds a majority stake to exert control.

The company is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) via American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), with a free-float of approximately 98.23% of its shares as of late 2025, meaning the vast majority of its equity is available for trading by the public and institutional investors.

Given Company's Current Status

ING Groep N.V. is a public company (N.V. stands for Naamloze Vennootschap, or public limited company) incorporated under Dutch law. Its shares are actively traded, and as of August 31, 2025, the total number of ordinary shares outstanding was approximately 2,953,460,329.

This wide distribution of ownership, particularly the high percentage held by institutional investors, means decision-making is driven by the Executive Board and Management Board Banking, subject to the oversight of the Supervisory Board and the collective influence of major institutional shareholders. You can see how this governance structure supports its long-term strategy, including its commitment to sustainability, by reviewing its Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of ING Groep N.V. (ING).

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

The company's ownership is dominated by institutional investors, primarily large asset managers and sovereign wealth funds, reflecting a geographically diverse shareholder base with 43% of ordinary shares distributed in the United States and 17% in the United Kingdom as of December 2023. Here's the quick math on the largest holders as of the most recent filings in 2025:

Given Company's Leadership

The company is steered by an experienced Executive Board (EB) and a broader Management Board Banking (MBB), with an average management team tenure of 4.8 years. The EB is responsible for the long-term strategy, while the MBB handles day-to-day management. The leadership is currently in a period of transition, with key executive changes announced for early 2026.

The current Executive Board members as of November 2025 are:

• Steven J. van Rijswijk: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since 2020, with total yearly compensation of €2.69M.
• Tanate Phutrakul: Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since 2019. (He is scheduled to step down in April 2026).
• Ljiljana Čortan: Chief Risk Officer (CRO) since April 2021. (She is set to become head of Wholesale Banking and step down from the EB no later than April 2026).

This is defintely a management team with deep institutional knowledge. For example, CEO Steven J. van Rijswijk has been with ING Groep N.V. since 2010 in various senior roles before becoming CEO. The focus now is on maintaining the strong financial performance seen in 2025, where the net result for the first half was €3,130 million, and the third quarter net result was €1,787 million.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) Mission and Values

ING Groep N.V. (ING) grounds its entire strategy on a single, clear purpose: empowering its customers. This commitment goes beyond transactions, focusing on making banking frictionless so people and businesses can realize their own vision for a better future, which is the core of their cultural DNA.

As a seasoned analyst, I see this purpose directly informing their capital allocation, especially in digital transformation and sustainability, which are key to their long-term value creation and shareholder returns.

ING Groep N.V.'s Core Purpose

You're looking for what drives a bank beyond the quarterly earnings report, and for ING, it's a belief in human potential. They understand that people don't just need a bank; they need banking to be a simple tool that helps them achieve their goals, whether personal or professional. It's a profound shift from a product-centric to a human-centric model.

Their promise is to make banking easy, instant, personal, and relevant, removing the constraints that stand between you and your passions. This is why their digital platforms are a constant focus for investment and improvement. You can see how this plays out in their strong capital position, with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 13.4% as of September 2025, well above regulatory requirements, giving them the financial muscle to defintely pursue these strategic goals.

Official Mission Statement

ING's mission is formally stated as their purpose, which guides every decision from retail lending to wholesale finance. It's a conviction that their role is to support progress-economic, social, and environmental-while also generating healthy returns for shareholders.

• Empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business.
• Helping people and businesses realize their own vision for a better future.
• Making banking frictionless, removing barriers to progress.

Vision Statement

The vision for ING is ambitious: to be the best European bank-a goal measured not just in profit, but in customer appreciation and impact. They aim to be a global digital bank that still maintains a critical human touch, understanding that technology must serve the relationship.

This vision is backed by concrete actions, such as the announced €1.1 billion share buyback program announced in October 2025, which signals a commitment to returning value to the investors who believe in their long-term digital and sustainable strategy. For a deeper dive into their financial stability, you should check out Breaking Down ING Groep N.V. (ING) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

• Be the best European bank: most loved, most valued, and most impactful.
• Be a banking leader in building a sustainable future.
• Deliver superior customer value through seamless digital services.

ING Groep N.V. Slogan/Tagline

ING's global tagline is a simple, powerful articulation of their purpose, translating their promise of frictionless banking into an everyday call to action. It's about freedom and confidence, knowing your bank is handling the complexity so you don't have to.

• do your thing.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) How It Works

ING Groep N.V. operates as a digitally-focused, global financial institution with a strong European base, making money primarily by taking in customer deposits and then lending that capital out, while increasingly relying on fee-based services to diversify its revenue streams.

The core of the business is simple: it uses its massive deposit base-including customer deposits of €736.1 billion as of Q3 2025-to fund its lending activities, generating net interest income, but the growth engine right now is fee income, which surged 15% in Q3 2025, a deliberate shift to offset interest rate volatility. You can get a deeper look at the money flows in Exploring ING Groep N.V. (ING) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?.

Given Company's Product/Service Portfolio

Given Company's Operational Framework

ING's operational framework is built on a single, scalable digital platform, which allows it to serve its diverse customer base efficiently across multiple geographies without needing a huge physical branch network. This is how they keep their cost structure low, honestly.

The bank focuses on two main segments, Retail Banking and Wholesale Banking, and the process is centered on digital customer journeys:

• Digital-First Acquisition: They acquire and service customers primarily through mobile and online channels, adding over 1 million mobile primary customers annually, particularly in growth markets like Germany and Spain.
• Fee Income Diversification: A key operational shift is moving away from sole reliance on Net Interest Income (NII) by pushing investment and insurance products, which drove a 15% increase in fee income in Q3 2025.
• Centralized Tech & Operations: They use a common technology and operations foundation to deliver seamless digital services globally, which helps scale up new products quickly and keeps operating expenses under control, despite inflation.
• Sustainable Finance Mobilization: ING integrates sustainability into its lending process, having mobilized €110 billion in sustainable volume in the first nine months of 2025, which also attracts a specific segment of corporate clients.

Given Company's Strategic Advantages

ING's market success is defintely anchored in its capital strength, its digital lead, and its clear commitment to sustainability, creating a strong competitive moat against peers.

• Superior Capital Position: The bank maintains a robust Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 13.4% as of September 30, 2025, which is well above regulatory requirements. This strong cushion allows for significant capital returns, like the announced €1.6 billion distribution in Q3 2025, split between a share buyback and cash dividend.
• Digital Banking Leadership: By prioritizing a mobile-first strategy, ING consistently achieves high Net Promoter Scores (NPS) in 5 out of 10 retail markets, a clear sign of customer satisfaction with their frictionless banking experience. This digital efficiency is a structural advantage.
• Income Stream Resilience: The strategic pivot to diversify revenue is paying off; the strong fee income growth is offsetting the pressure on Net Interest Income (NII) from the tough interest rate environment, leading to a high Return on Equity (ROE) of 15.0% in Q3 2025.
• ESG and Sustainable Finance Focus: ING's upgraded 'AAA' MSCI ESG rating in October 2025 positions it as a leader in sustainable finance, giving it a competitive edge in attracting capital and corporate clients focused on the low-carbon transition.

To be fair, the primary risk remains the macroeconomic uncertainty in Europe, but the strong capital base and diversified income streams put ING in a solid position to navigate it.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) How It Makes Money

ING Groep N.V. primarily makes money the way most banks do: by borrowing money at a lower rate (from customer deposits) and lending it out at a higher rate (through mortgages, corporate loans, etc.), which is called Net Interest Income (NII). However, the bank is aggressively diversifying its income streams, so a significant and growing portion of its revenue now comes from fees for services like daily banking, investment products, and wholesale banking activities.

ING Groep N.V.'s Revenue Breakdown

You can see a clear trend in ING's revenue mix as of the first half of the 2025 fiscal year. The bank is strategically shifting to rely less on the traditional interest income model, which is under pressure from normalizing liability margins, and more on fee-based services, which are growing fast. The full-year 2025 outlook projects total income to reach approximately €22.8 billion, driven by this diversification.

Here's the quick math on the first half of 2025: Net Interest Income was €7.159 billion, while Net Fee and Commission Income hit €2.216 billion. The real story is the growth-NII is down, but the fee engine is surging with double-digit growth, which is defintely a key indicator of a successful strategy shift. This focus on non-interest income is crucial for long-term stability.

Business Economics

ING's economic engine is built on two primary pillars: a massive, digitally-focused retail customer base and a capital-light Wholesale Banking operation. The core principle is scalability through digitalization, which helps keep the cost-to-income ratio (C/I ratio) competitive, even with inflationary pressures.

• Fee Income Strategy: The bank is actively growing its fee income, targeting a full-year 2025 growth rate of over 10%. This comes from two main areas: Retail Banking fees from daily banking and investment products, and Wholesale Banking fees from lending, trade finance, and Global Capital Markets.
• Digital Scale: By Q3 2025, the bank had grown its mobile primary customer base by over 300,000 in the quarter, reaching 14.9 million. More customers using the app means lower servicing costs and more opportunities for cross-selling fee-generating products.
• Lending and Deposit Dynamics: In Q3 2025, net core lending grew by €14.2 billion, showing strong commercial momentum. The bank manages its Net Interest Margin (NIM)-the profit margin on its lending-by balancing the cost of customer deposits against the yield on its loan book, particularly mortgages and corporate loans.
• Sustainable Finance: A strategic focus is mobilizing sustainable finance. For the first nine months of 2025, ING mobilized €110 billion in sustainable volumes, a 29% year-on-year increase, which generates significant fees and aligns with future market trends.

To be fair, the decline in Net Interest Income for the first half of 2025 shows the challenge of normalizing liability margins, where the bank has to pay more for customer deposits, but the strong fee growth is successfully offsetting this headwind. You can read more about the strategic direction in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of ING Groep N.V. (ING).

ING Groep N.V.'s Financial Performance

ING's recent financial results show a healthy, well-capitalized institution that is delivering strong returns to shareholders, even amidst macroeconomic uncertainty. The Q3 2025 results underscore the bank's resilience and its ability to execute its strategic plan.

• Net Result: The bank reported a strong net result of €1,787 million for the third quarter of 2025. This translated into a quarterly Return on Equity (ROE) of 15.0%, a fantastic result that is well above the bank's target.
• Capital Strength: The Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio, which is the bank's financial safety cushion, stood at a robust 13.4% in Q3 2025, comfortably above the regulatory minimum and the bank's own target of approximately 13%. This solid capital position is what gives them the firepower for growth and shareholder returns.
• Risk Management: Risk costs remained low, below the bank's through-the-cycle average, reflecting the high quality of the loan portfolio and disciplined credit risk management. For Q3 2025, risk costs for Retail Banking were 15 basis points of average customer lending.
• Shareholder Returns: Following the strong performance, ING announced a substantial capital distribution of €1.6 billion in Q3 2025, which includes a share buyback and cash dividend. This is a clear sign of management's confidence in the bank's capital generation and future profitability.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) Market Position & Future Outlook

ING Groep N.V. is a European financial powerhouse, strategically positioned to capitalize on its digital-first model and strong capital base, targeting a return on equity (ROE) of over 14% by 2027. The bank is focusing on accelerating growth in core European markets, with a full-year 2025 total income outlook of approximately €22.8 billion, demonstrating solid execution against its strategy.

Honestly, the bank's future trajectory hinges on its ability to sustain digital customer growth while navigating the persistent pressure on Net Interest Income (NII) from potential European Central Bank (ECB) rate shifts. You can dive deeper into the core metrics in Breaking Down ING Groep N.V. (ING) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Competitive Landscape

ING's competitive edge is its highly scalable, digital-first retail banking platform, which gives it a cost-to-serve advantage over many legacy peers. Here is a snapshot of its relative size in the European banking market, using Total Assets as a proxy for market share.

Opportunities & Challenges

Looking at the near-term, ING has clear opportunities to expand its fee-based income, but it also faces structural risks that require constant, defintely disciplined management. The bank's Q3 2025 net result of €1,787 million shows the current strategy is working, but you can't ignore the headwinds.

Industry Position

ING is a Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) with a strong European core, and it is a leader in two critical areas: digital banking and sustainability. Its capital position remains robust, with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 13.4% as of September 30, 2025, which is well above regulatory minimums.

• Maintain a market-leading retail presence in both the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Achieved an upgraded MSCI ESG rating to 'AAA' in October 2025, positioning it as a top-tier bank for sustainable finance.
• The full-year 2025 Return on Equity (ROE) forecast is revised upward to over 12.5%, indicating strong profitability relative to its cost of capital.
• The bank is actively driving efficiency through reorganization, targeting a reduction of approximately 145 FTEs in the Netherlands by automating functions.

The bank is well-capitalized to withstand economic shocks and has the digital infrastructure to scale without proportionally increasing costs. That's a powerful combination.