About this book:

ING Group traces its origins to the Dutch Golden Age, where innovations like the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and the Bank of Amsterdam laid the groundwork for sophisticated financial services in the Netherlands. Centuries of pragmatic banking and insurance traditions, including mutual aid societies and marine insurance, evolved through the 19th century with the establishment of De Nederlandsche Bank and specialized institutions serving the middle class and the public via postal savings. The mid-20th century post-war reconstruction saw the rise of Nationale-Nederlanden from the merger of De Nederlanden van 1845 and Nationale Levensverzekering Bank, while concurrently, NMB Postbank Groep formed through the union of the Nederlandse Middenstandsbank and the Postbank, creating a powerful retail banking force focused on SMEs and mass-market accessibility.

The pivotal moment came in 1991 when Nationale-Nederlanden and NMB Postbank Groep merged to form ING Group, creating a bancassurance giant with global ambitions. This merger enabled rapid international expansion through acquisitions like Barings Bank (1995), Bank Brussels Lambert (1997), and ReliaStar and Aetna's U.S. financial services (2000), alongside the pioneering launch of ING Direct in 1997—a branchless, online banking model that disrupted markets globally. ING diversified into asset management and wholesale banking, becoming a truly integrated global financial services provider by the early 2000s, with operations spanning Europe, North America, Asia, and Latin America, peaking at $1.916 trillion in assets before the 2008 financial crisis.

The global financial crisis of 2008 marked a turning point, forcing ING to accept a €10 billion Dutch state aid package with stringent European Commission conditions mandating major divestments. This led to the painful shedding of international insurance, asset management, and direct banking operations (including ING Direct USA and Canada), transforming ING into a streamlined, predominantly European-centric banking institution focused on core retail and wholesale banking. In the post-crisis era, ING has embraced digital transformation through mobile-first strategies, AI integration, agile organizational structures, and subscription-based banking models, while establishing itself as a leader in sustainable finance via initiatives like Project Terra, aligning its lending with Paris Agreement goals and focusing on responsible banking, technological innovation, and strategic resilience in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

What You'll Find Inside:

• The formation of ING Group in 1991 through the merger of Nationale-Nederlanden and NMB Postbank Groep, creating one of Europe's first major bancassurance institutions that combined banking and insurance operations.
• ING's pioneering role in the direct banking revolution with the launch of ING Direct in 1997, which introduced branchless, online-only banking that disrupted traditional models across multiple countries.
• The company's aggressive global expansion strategy through acquisitions like Barings Bank (1995), ReliaStar (2000), and Aetna's financial services (2000), transforming ING into a truly global financial conglomerate before the 2008 crisis.
• How ING navigated the 2008 global financial crisis through government intervention, subsequent divestment of non-core businesses, and transformation into a more focused, digitally-driven European banking institution.
• ING's evolution into a leader in sustainable finance and responsible banking, exemplified by initiatives like Project Terra to align lending with climate goals and its commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles.

Who's It For:

This book would be most beneficial for finance professionals, business students, and corporate historians seeking to understand the evolution of a major global financial institution. It provides valuable insights for anyone interested in banking strategy, international expansion, crisis management, and the transformation of financial services in the digital age. Readers looking to learn from ING's experiences with mergers, diversification, technological innovation, and sustainable finance will find this comprehensive history particularly instructive.