ING Group Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

Executives at ING Group (NYSE:ING) used their latest earnings call to highlight what they described as “good commercial and financial results in 2025,” pointing to customer growth, higher business volumes, and rising fee income alongside controlled expenses and steady credit performance. Management also fielded questions ranging from significant risk transfer (SRT) transactions and competitive dynamics with neobanks to sustainability-related litigation and an expanding defense finance pipeline.

Customer growth and expanding volumes

Management said ING added more than 1 million primary customers in 2025, including 350,000 in the fourth quarter. In total, the bank now has 41 million customers, of which more than 15 million are primary customers, according to the remarks.

On business volumes, ING said its lending book grew by EUR 57 billion in 2025, or 8% year over year, which management described as “double the lending growth” achieved in 2024. The bank broke down its lending exposure as follows:

• EUR 376 billion in mortgages
• EUR 140 billion in business banking
• EUR 266 billion in wholesale banking

Deposits, including savings and current accounts, increased by EUR 38 billion, representing 6% growth for 2025. Management summarized overall client balance growth as roughly 8% for lending and 6% for deposits.

Income, costs, and profitability

On the income statement, the company said interest income “held up well” over the year, while noting “headwinds” from a lower replication volume on the liability side. Management said the bank moved through a “trough” around mid-year and was “getting out of it,” referencing 5% growth in the fourth quarter tied to an improvement in liability income dynamics.

Fee income rose 15% to EUR 4.6 billion from EUR 1.5 billion, which management attributed to growth in investment products and increased activity in wholesale banking, including a shift toward more lending-related business alongside capital markets activity.

Expenses were described as “under control,” rising 4% for the full year, while the fourth quarter was flat. Management cited wage-related effects (including CLA impacts) and ongoing investment, partially offset by operational efficiencies.

Risk costs were “about at the cycle average” in the fourth quarter and “a little bit below” through the year, with management citing about 19 basis points versus a through-the-cycle level of about 20 basis points.

For the year, ING reported:

• Net profit of EUR 6.3 billion
• Return on equity of 13.2%
• Capital ratio of 30.1%

The bank also said it would propose a dividend for year-end, without giving further details in the excerpted comments.

Investment and brokerage push

Management emphasized efforts to diversify beyond interest-driven activities by expanding investment offerings. It characterized its platform as a mix of “asset management and e-brokerage,” noting that much of the activity involves distributing third-party products and providing access to shares and funds rather than manufacturing products in-house.

ING said its combined asset management and e-brokerage activities reached EUR 278 billion, up 60% versus 2024, which management attributed partly to fast growth from a smaller base. Executives also described a shift from a market-by-market approach—using different platforms, execution agents, and reporting—toward more standardized infrastructure to improve scalability.

In discussing geographic momentum, management cited Germany as a market where ING is seen as a strong digital bank, with additional strength in Belgium and Spain, and growth in Italy and the Netherlands. Executives said customer needs vary by market and suggested that changing pension systems and inflation experiences have influenced interest in investing in some countries.

SRT transactions and capital flexibility

Responding to questions on SRT strategy, management said ING began executing these trades for the first time last year after updating risk models to align with European Central Bank supervision and a greater emphasis on data-driven approaches. The company said the impact of SRT trades in 2025 was 12 basis points, or 0.2%, of CET1 release.

For 2026, management said it expects SRT trades to release 15 to 20 basis points (or 0.15% to 0.20%). Executives described SRTs as a way to add “flexibility” to support growth, while cautioning against over-reliance on any one market instrument given the possibility that liquidity and investor appetite could change.

Competition, SME strategy, sustainability case, and defense financing

Executives said ING competes with both incumbent banks shifting toward digital and newer neobanks focused on niches such as payments/FX (citing Revolut) or investing (citing Trade Republic and N26). Management said it has not seen growth constraints, but framed the challenge as deepening and broadening relationships with customers while continuing to improve digital journeys and tailor services for subsegments such as Gen Z, affluent customers, pensioners, and expats. The bank also referenced rolling out subscription-style packages in Romania and said it intends to expand that concept to other markets.

In Germany, management described building a digital SME bank, initially focused on current accounts and payments for self-employed customers, with lending expected to follow as relationships mature. Executives said Germany was the third-biggest country by growth in the number of business banking customers last year, though they noted the SME effort remains small relative to the group’s scale.

On sustainability, management said it is preparing to respond “in the next month or so” to claims in a court case brought by Milieudefensie. Executives reiterated that they share the goal of a more sustainable society but favor a transition path “with clients.” They also said ING’s “sustainable volume mobilized” increased from about EUR 140 billion to EUR 166 billion in 2025, and highlighted a renewable energy financing commitment, stating that a goal to grow annual renewable energy volume from EUR 2.5 billion to EUR 7.5 billion per annum by 2025 resulted in EUR 9 billion in 2025.

Finally, management said ING is “growing quite quickly” in defense exposure, describing at least EUR 2 billion of exposure after coming from “almost 0,” with 40 to 50 projects in the pipeline. Executives said ING intends to support Europe’s defense build-up within its policy limits, and described building sector expertise centered in France with additional dedicated resources across countries.

About ING Group (NYSE:ING)

ING Group N.V. is a Dutch multinational financial services company headquartered in Amsterdam. Formed through the consolidation of Dutch financial businesses, ING operates as a banking and financial services group that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporates and institutional clients. The company is organized under a two-tier governance model common in the Netherlands, with an Executive Board responsible for day-to-day management and a Supervisory Board providing oversight.

ING’s principal activities include retail and direct banking, commercial and wholesale banking, corporate lending, transaction services and cash management, and a range of investment and savings products.