ING cuts 2,350 jobs as Q3 profits drop
AMSTERDAM (AP) — ING Groep NV, the Dutch bank and insurance company, has revealed plans to cut 2,350 jobs alongside a sharp drop in third-quarter profits.
It says Wednesday that its net profit fell to €609 million ($783 million) from €1.69 billion a year ago. It says the decline was due to it selling assets at a loss to eliminate the potential for bigger losses later.
The job cuts represent 2.5 percent of ING's workforce.
ING, which is still negotiating with European regulators over compensation for its 2008 bailout by the Dutch state, said underlying bank profits rose 16 percent to €1.02 billion, as it attracted retail depositors and margins improved.
ING blamed lower interest rates for a 39 percent fall in the insurance division's operating profit to €238 million.
