ING reports 18% profit boost as loans rise

ING’s statutory net profit after tax increased to $348 million, with total loans also up by 9.9 per cent to $52.6 billion, in the 2017 calendar year.

Residential home lending growth grew by 8.3 per cent in the calendar year, from $41.6 billion to $44.8 billion.

Business banking loans also grew markedly, rising by more than 17 per cent, from $3.4 billion in n2016, to $4 billion in 2017.

Total savings also rose by 8.3 per cent to $39.7 billion.

The bank has also reported a 68 per cent increase in its primary bank customers, now totalling approximately 410,000, with around 300,000 new customers, and 398,499 new Orange Everyday accounts opened – bringing the total to over 850,000.

ING also stated that 40 per cent of its new customers came from referrals by existing customers.

ING CEO Uday Sareen said he was pleased with the results, attributing the growth to a diversification of the bank’s offerings. 

“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved this year. We now have more than 410,000 Australians who use ING as their main bank and more than 850,000 Orange Everyday accounts,” he said.

“We entered the Australian market with a pioneering online savings account and now we’re a bank that satisfies the everyday financial needs of Australians, from transactional accounts and credit cards to mortgages and superannuation.”

Mr Sareen pointed to an increase in business and wholesale bank lending, and noted that ING plans to further develop its servicing of corporate customers in Australia.

“ING has global reach and expertise in wholesale lending and we plan to continue growing and serving more corporate customers in Australia in 2018 with a focus on real estate, utilities & infrastructure, metals and mining, oil and gas, telecommunications and media,” he added.

[Related: Bank chief confirms ‘channel of choice’ for home loans]