ING Groep N.V. (ING): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking for the real story behind ING Groep N.V.'s current strategy, and honestly, after two decades analyzing banks, it boils down to this: they are aggressively pushing digital scale while diversifying away from pure lending income. Look at the numbers: they're managing 14.9 million mobile primary customers and have mobilized €110 billion in sustainable finance by 9M 2025, all while their fee income is growing a solid 12% year-on-year. That 13.4% CET1 ratio gives them the muscle, but the real action is in how they are using AI and proprietary tech to keep operating costs in check despite rising wage inflation. Dive into the nine blocks below to see exactly how ING Groep N.V. is structuring its business to win in this new European banking landscape.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at who ING Groep N.V. relies on to execute its strategy, the essential external relationships that keep the capital flowing and innovation moving. These partnerships are concrete, not abstract.

The focus on capital efficiency is clear through major risk-sharing deals. ING Groep N.V. recently finalized two significant risk transfer (SRT) transactions, which were the inaugural ones for ING Wholesale Banking. These deals secured first-loss protection on corporate loan portfolios.

Here's the quick math on those SRTs, which are key to freeing up capital for new growth financing:

This move, part of the capital velocity strategy, was made possible through strong partnerships with leading institutional investors. ING Groep N.V. plans to extend the strategic use of SRTs across Retail and additional Wholesale Banking portfolios going forward.

Another strategic alignment involves private banking. In July 2025, ING Groep N.V. finalized the acquisition of a 17.6% stake in Van Lanschot Kempen N.V. from Reggeborgh Groep B.V. This brought ING's total interest in the wealth manager to 20.3%, building on its existing 2.7% stake. The transaction had a minimal impact on ING's CET1 ratio.

For European coordination, ING Groep N.V. remains the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks. This is a co-operative consortium comprising 11 prominent European banks.

Fintech and digital enhancement rely on several active collaborations. ING Groep N.V. currently holds over 90 partnerships with fintechs across different business areas.

• Partnerships with major hyperscalers, especially Google, to accelerate AI adoption.
• Involvement with Kabbage for automated lending to SMEs, offered in Spain.
• Internal innovation via Payconiq for in-store, online payments, and instant transfers.
• Participation in a consortium of ten major European banks to launch the MiCAR-compliant stablecoin issuer, Qivalis, planned for the second half of 2026.

Finance: draft next quarter's capital allocation plan based on the 14 basis points CET1 uplift by end-of-week.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're mapping out what ING Groep N.V. actually does day-to-day to generate revenue and serve its massive client base. It's about the engine room of the business, and right now, that engine is heavily digitized and focused on transition finance.

Developing and scaling digital banking platforms globally remains a primary focus. The bank grew its mobile primary customer base by +197,000 in the third quarter of 2025 alone. On a year-over-year basis, this represents a growth of over 1.1 million mobile primary customers, which is an 8% increase since the third quarter of 2024, keeping them on track for their stated growth target. This digital expansion is happening across key markets including Germany, Spain, Italy, and Romania.

Core lending activities, especially in mortgages and corporate finance, are still the backbone. For the third quarter of 2025, ING reported a net core lending growth of €14.2 bln. Fee income, which is a key indicator of service utilization beyond pure interest spread, hit €1,165 mln in 3Q2025, marking a 15% increase versus 3Q2024. The bank serves tens of millions of clients across over 40 countries with approximately 60,000 employees.

Mobilizing sustainable finance is a stated strategic imperative. ING reached €110 billion in sustainable finance volume mobilized across the first nine months of 2025. That figure represents a 29% year-on-year increase compared to the €85.3 bln mobilized in 9M2024. Green loans have now surpassed sustainability-linked loans as the leading product category by the number of transactions.

Integrating generative AI-powered chatbots is moving from pilot to scale. ING established a standardized approach for developing and scaling these chatbots across multiple countries in 2024 and 2025. These geographies include the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany, Romania, and Australia. For instance, a pilot in the Netherlands previously funneled 2.5% of client chats into its gen AI chatbot for testing before broader rollout.

You can see the operational scale here:

• Total Assets: Approximately €1.1 trillion as of Q3 2025.
• Consolidated Net Result: €4.917 billion for 9M2025.
• CET1 Ratio: 13.4% at the end of Q3 2025.
• Return on Equity (4-qtr rolling avg): 12.6% as of 2Q2025.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the foundational assets that keep ING Groep N.V. running strong as a major European bank. Honestly, the strength starts with the balance sheet. The firm maintains a strong capital base, reporting a CET1 ratio of 13.4% at the end of Q3 2025. That figure is important because it shows they are operating above their adjusted target of approximately 13%, which is key for stability, especially given the higher expected capital requirements coming in 2026.

Next up is the sheer scale of the customer relationship. ING Groep N.V. boasts a large, engaged customer base, with the figure of 14.9 million mobile primary customers cited as of Q2 2025. This digital core is growing fast; for instance, in Q3 2025 alone, they added almost 200,000 new mobile primary customers. That focus on digital engagement is definitely paying off in terms of reach and revenue generation.

• Year-on-year growth in mobile primary customers reached 1.1 million, or 8%, by the end of Q3 2025.
• Retail fee income rose 14% year-on-year in Q3 2025, largely from investment products used by these digitally active customers.

The technology underpinning this digital delivery is a critical resource. ING Groep N.V. has invested heavily in proprietary digital banking technology and a scalable IT infrastructure to support real-time processing and security.

Finally, the brand itself is a massive asset, providing global recognition and a strong European banking footprint. This scale allows for significant operational leverage across diverse markets.

• Total global customer base exceeds 40 million.
• ING Bank offers services in over 100 countries.
• The bank has an active banking presence in 40 countries as of 2022 data.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

Digital-first, seamless, and secure mobile banking experience.

You're looking at a bank that has clearly made its mobile app the central hub for its retail customers. This focus is translating directly into customer numbers and engagement metrics. For instance, ING Groep N.V. gained almost 200,000 mobile primary customers in the third quarter of 2025 alone. That puts their year-on-year growth at 1.1 million mobile primary customers, which is an 8% increase, keeping them right on their annual growth target. To be fair, this growth is not uniform; it's been particularly strong in markets like Germany, Spain, Italy, and Romania. The engagement is deep, with 6 million app users interacting daily and seeing more than 5.5 million logins every day. This digital push is also reflected in customer satisfaction, as ING Groep N.V. maintained the number one Net Promoter Score (NPS) in 5 out of 10 retail markets.

• App rating stands at 4.6, with a goal to exceed 4.7.
• 50% of new customers today are non-Dutch, showing successful localization efforts.
• The bank is managing over 200 million selections daily for personalization.

Financial products that empower you to stay a step ahead in life and business.

This value proposition is backed by significant commercial momentum across both retail and wholesale segments. In Retail Banking, customer lending expanded by €8.6 billion in the third quarter of 2025, driven mainly by mortgages. Also, Retail fee income rose a solid 14% year-on-year by Q3 2025, largely fueled by investment products as more customers started using the platform to invest. On the investment side, as of June 2025, 4.9 million customers held an investment account, with assets under management and e-brokerage reaching €254 billion. For business clients, Wholesale Banking saw lending growth of €5.7 billion and a 19% growth in fee income year-on-year in Q3 2025. Overall, ING Groep N.V. reported total assets of €1.1 trillion as of Q3 2025, and projects a total income (revenue) of approximately €22.8 billion for the full 2025 fiscal year.

Here's a quick look at some key financial and product scale numbers:

Commitment to sustainability, driving the transition to a low-carbon economy.

ING Groep N.V. is actively financing the transition, reporting that in the first nine months of 2025, they increased their sustainable volume mobilised by 29% year-on-year to €110 billion. Looking at the first half of 2025 specifically, the volume mobilised was €67.8 billion, which is a 19% increase compared to the first half of 2024. This support translated into 400 sustainability deals supported in 1H2025, up from 367 in 1H2024. The bank's external validation reflects this focus; its MSCI ESG rating was upgraded from 'AA' to 'AAA' in October 2025. Furthermore, as of June 2025, Sustainalytics gave ING an ESG risk rating of 18.0, classifying it as low risk.

Competitive pricing, defintely appealing to the cost-aware retail customer.

While the data on explicit price cuts is more nuanced, the focus on value is evident through product incentives and market positioning. For example, in the Netherlands, ING introduced a new mortgage pricing model where eligible customers get an automatic interest rate reduction when they improve their home's energy label. The bank also offers rate incentives for energy-efficient homes across five additional retail markets. For Wholesale Banking, the outlook for the full year 2025 shows a liability margin around 100 basis points and a lending margin around 125 basis points. You see the result of this value delivery in their market standing, having retained the number one NPS score in 5 out of 10 retail markets.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how ING Groep N.V. (ING) manages its connection with its vast customer base as of late 2025. The focus is heavily weighted toward digital self-service, backed by serious data infrastructure.

Automated self-service via digital channels and AI-driven tools

ING Groep N.V. is clearly pushing customers toward its digital platforms for day-to-day interactions. This strategy is evident in the sheer volume of digital engagement you see reported. For instance, the bank reports more than 5.5 million login a day across its user base. This high frequency of interaction is the lifeblood of their automated service model. They are actively working to keep the digital experience smooth, aiming to beat the ease-of-use that neo-banks offer, which is a key reason customers switch, honestly.

The commitment to digital enhancement is also seen in their investment in tracking customer behavior. ING is tracking 2.22 billion events a year using their Adobe stack to understand what customers are doing. Furthermore, they are deploying new technology, having launched a new AI chatbot across six markets in 2025.

Here are some hard numbers reflecting this digital relationship focus:

• Mobile primary customers reached 14.9 million as of Q2 2025.
• The bank added 1.1 million mobile primary customers year-on-year through Q3 2025, hitting their target of 1 million per year.
• The app rating stands at 4.6, with a goal to move beyond 4.7.
• Retail fee income rose 14% year-on-year in Q3 2025, partly from investment products.

Personalized product offerings based on data analytics

The data collected from those millions of daily logins is put to work immediately to make the experience feel personal. ING uses orchestration modeling to create unique messaging lists for every customer daily. They are managing over 200 million selections a day to determine the most relevant message for each customer group.

This level of personalization is showing tangible results in engagement. The click-through rate (CTR) on personalized messages within the app has doubled, moving from around 0.8% to 1.6%. This directly supports the growth in investment product customers, with over 400,000 new active investment product customers year-on-year as of mid-2025, bringing the total to 4.9 million customers with investment accounts totaling €254 billion in assets under management and e-brokerage.

The investment in digital experience and scalability is also noted within the Wholesale Banking segment, where expenses increased year-on-year partly due to these initiatives.

Key metrics showing the scale of data-driven personalization include:

Dedicated relationship managers for Wholesale Banking and Private Banking clients

While the retail segment leans heavily on automation, the more complex segments still rely on high-touch service. ING Groep N.V. maintains dedicated relationship managers for its Wholesale Banking and Private Banking clients. This is a necessary distinction, given the nature of the business. For example, Wholesale Banking saw a strong performance in Q3 2025, with fee income growing 19% year-on-year, driven by increased loan underwriting activity and volume growth from clients needing financing.

The bank's overall employee base is over 60,000 globally, supporting these specialized services across more than 100 countries. The continued investment in Wholesale Banking systems scalability suggests that even these relationship managers are being supported by enhanced digital tools to serve their high-value clients more effectively.

Focus on enhancing the digital customer experience for retention

Retention is clearly tied to the digital experience, as evidenced by the focus on app quality and ease of use. ING is in a race to maintain relevance against competitors, including neo-banks, where onboarding can take as little as 5 minutes. To combat this, ING is working to remove friction points and increase relevance across 11 different communication spots within the app, up from just one previously.

The bank has also seen its ESG rating by MSCI upgraded to AAA in October 2025, which is a key factor for many institutional and private banking clients when making decisions about where to place assets. Furthermore, they have increased their sustainable volume mobilized by 29% year-on-year to €110 billion in the first nine months of 2025, showing alignment with client sustainability journeys. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk rises, so the digital experience is defintely critical for keeping the customer base growing, which saw a net addition of over 300,000 mobile primary customers in Q2 2025 alone.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how ING Groep N.V. gets its services to its massive customer base as of late 2025. The strategy clearly leans digital, but the physical footprint remains important for high-value interactions and core markets. Honestly, the numbers show a bank doubling down on digital engagement.

The primary channel for ING Groep N.V. is definitely its digital offering. Mobile and web banking platforms are the main interface for the retail customer base. As of the second quarter of 2025, the bank reported a continued strong increase in mobile primary customers, reaching a total of over 14.9 million. This represented a quarterly increase of over 300,000 new mobile primary customers. Year-on-year growth for the first nine months of 2025 was 1.1 million, or 8%, keeping them on track with their target of one million mobile primary customers annually. Growth was particularly strong in Germany, Spain, Italy, and Romania.

For more complex advice, especially around mortgages or wealth management, the targeted physical branch network is still in play, particularly in core European markets. In the Netherlands alone, which is a core market, ING Groep N.V. maintains over 200 branches and service points to support its roughly 8 million private customers there. Retail banking services are offered across several countries, including Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Romania, where the digital growth is most pronounced.

Direct sales teams are the essential channel for Wholesale Banking and larger corporate clients. This segment serves clients in over 35 countries globally. To enhance efficiency and focus, ING Groep N.V. announced a restructuring of its Wholesale Banking workforce, which included 230 redundancies in Commercial Front Office roles as of mid-2025. Fee income from Wholesale Banking, which is a key revenue stream, saw growth, partly driven by higher capital markets issuance deals.

For everyday transactions, ING Groep N.V. relies on a broad infrastructure of ATMs and third-party payment networks across its core European footprint. While specific ATM counts aren't always public, the bank supports its operations with more than 60,000 employees serving customers in over 100 countries, indicating a wide, if digitally-led, physical reach. They also highlight leadership in payments, being named Best Bank for payments in Western and Central & Eastern Europe by Global Finance in 2025.

Here's a quick view of the scale across these channels as of mid-to-late 2025:

The bank continues to invest in its digital customer experience and the scalability of its systems, which directly impacts the effectiveness of these primary channels. For instance, fee income growth in Retail Banking was up 14% year-on-year in Q3 2025, largely from investment products as more customers started using the digital platforms for investing. This shows the digital channel is successfully driving higher-margin product adoption.

You can see the focus on efficiency reflected in the operational adjustments:

• Continued investment in digital customer experience and system scalability.
• Restructuring in Wholesale Banking to optimize front office roles.
• Strong growth in fee income, suggesting successful cross-selling via digital touchpoints.
• Maintaining a physical presence for complex advice in core markets like the Netherlands.
• Global Wholesale Banking network spanning over 35 countries.

The bank's overall employee base stands at more than 60,000 people, supporting this multi-channel approach across retail and wholesale banking operations globally. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk rises, which is why digital self-service is so defintely prioritized.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

ING Groep N.V. serves a broad base, with a total customer count globally exceeding 40 million customers.

Mass-market retail customers, especially mobile-first users in Europe (e.g., Germany, Spain).

The focus on digital engagement drives acquisition within the retail segment. As of Q2 2025, the mobile primary customer base stood at 14.9 million. This base saw a year-on-year growth of 1.1 million, or 8%, as of Q3 2025, meeting the annual growth target of 1 million. ING gained almost 200,000 new mobile primary customers in the third quarter of 2025 alone. Growth has been particularly strong in markets including Germany, Spain, Italy, and Romania.

The engagement within this segment is deepening, as evidenced by fee income growth:

• Retail fee income rose 14% year-on-year in 3Q 2025.
• This rise was mainly from investment products as more customers started investing with ING.

Wholesale Banking clients: Large corporations and financial institutions.

ING Wholesale Banking provides services to corporate clients and financial institutions across more than 35 countries. The division showed a strong performance in 2Q 2025, with fee income rising by a double-digit percentage compared to the previous year. Lending growth in Wholesale Banking reached €5.7 billion in 3Q 2025.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in core markets.

SME activity is captured within the Business Banking lending volumes reported under Retail Banking. In 3Q 2025, net core lending growth in Business Banking reached €3.2 billion, driven by higher loan demand from SME clients. Lending volumes in Business Banking were stable in 3Q 2025, with increases noted in the Netherlands and Poland.

Private Banking clients seeking wealth management and specialized advice.

Data points suggest a strong uptake in investment services among retail customers, which aligns with wealth management needs. As of June 2025, a total of 4.9 million customers held an investment account with ING. The assets under management and e-brokerage for these customers totaled €254 billion as of June 2025.

Here are the key customer metrics as reported in the first three quarters of 2025:

You can see the strategic alignment in the growth figures; the digital customer base is expanding consistently.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the core expenses ING Groep N.V. faces to run its operations as of late 2025. It's a big number, and understanding where that money goes is key to seeing the pressure points on profitability.

The total operating expenses for ING Groep N.V. in the first half of 2025 reached €6,234 million. This represented a 6.0% increase year-on-year. This rise was directly linked to inflationary pressures and the bank's ongoing investments to support business growth.

Here is a breakdown of the key components that make up that cost base, based on the H1 2025 figures:

The primary drivers behind the increase in costs, excluding specific one-offs, are clear. You see the impact of wage inflation across the organization, which was a major theme in the 2025-2026 Collective Labour Agreement negotiations, pushing for fair remuneration and performance-based pay rises for everyone in 2025 and 2026. Also significant are the investments directed toward technology.

The cost of technology development and maintenance for digital platforms is substantial. ING Groep N.V. is pouring resources into initiatives designed to further enhance the digital customer experience and ensure the scalability of its systems, particularly within Wholesale Banking. This is a necessary cost to stay competitive in digital banking.

Regulatory and compliance costs remain a fixed, high expense. For the first half of 2025, these costs totaled €439 million, which was noted as being broadly stable. These costs cover mandatory requirements like bank taxes and contributions to deposit guarantee schemes and resolution funds. A significant portion of this is dedicated to strengthening anti-money laundering measures, which is a continuous operational expense for all major financial institutions.

Personnel costs are a major driver within the operating expenses, directly impacted by the environment:

• Personnel costs rose due to wage inflation from collective labour agreements in 2025.
• The 2025-2026 CLA focused on a pay rise for everyone in 2025 and 2026.
• There is an increased focus on performance-based remuneration.
• The bank is investing in employee development via an individual learning account, funded with an annual amount of €375 per employee plus a lump sum of €375 upon IDP recording.

To be defintely clear, the costs excluding regulatory and incidental items rose 5.3% year-on-year, driven by these inflationary and investment factors. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

ING Groep N.V. (ING) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the core ways ING Groep N.V. brings in money as of late 2025. The bank's revenue structure remains heavily reliant on traditional banking activities, though diversification through fees is a clear strategic focus.

Net Interest Income (NII) from lending and deposits still forms the bedrock of ING Groep N.V.'s revenue. For the first half of 2025, Commercial Net Interest Income (NII) totaled €7,566 million. In the third quarter of 2025, Commercial NII was reported at €3,823 million. To be fair, this was up quarter-on-quarter, but year-on-year commercial NII declined by €74 million in Q3 2025, mainly due to lower liability margins and foreign exchange impacts.

Fee and commission income is a growing component, aligning with the strategy to diversify income streams. In Q2 2025, net fee and commission income increased 12% year-on-year in both Retail Banking and Wholesale Banking. This growth helped fees make up almost 20% of total income in Q2 2025.

Wholesale Banking revenues contribute significantly through transaction-based services. For instance, in Q3 2025, Wholesale Banking delivered a quarterly record fee income of EUR 383 million. This was driven by strong performance in lending, supported by increased loan underwriting activity and higher lending volumes.

Retail fee income shows strong momentum from wealth-related services. In Q3 2025, Retail fee income rose 14% year-on-year. This rise was mainly attributed to investment products, reflecting an increase in the number of investment accounts and higher customer trading activity. For context, in Q2 2025, investment products specifically contributed €288 million to the total fee income figure.

Here are some key revenue figures from the recent quarters:

The bank is actively diversifying its income streams, but NII remains the primary driver. You should watch the commercial net interest margin, which stood at 2.22% in Q3 2025, remaining almost stable quarter-on-quarter.

The overall revenue picture for the first nine months of 2025 suggests continued stability and growth in non-interest income, as shown by these points:

• Total income for 2025 is now expected to reach approximately €22.8 billion.
• Full-year fee growth outlook upgraded to >10% growth.
• Total income for 6M 2025 was €11,339 million.
• Net core lending grew by €14.2 billion in Q3 2025.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.