ING posts 1Q18 net result of €1,225 million

ING continues pace of commercial growth, attracting more customers and increasing core lending
·	ING grew primary customer base in 1Q18 by 170,000 to 11.2 million; total retail customers reached 37.8 million
·	Net core lending in 1Q18 increased by €12.3 billion; net customer deposit inflow amounted to €2.4 billion
ING 1Q18 underlying pre-tax result of €1,686 million, up 2.1% year-on-year
·	Good result reflects continued loan growth and lower risk costs, whereas expenses remained under control
·	ING's 1Q18 four-quarter rolling underlying ROE was 10.3%; fully loaded CET1 ratio at 14.3%
CEO statement "We delivered solid profitability in the first quarter, at the same time providing a differentiating experience for customers and innovating to stay relevant for them in the future," said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group. "We attracted new customers and deepened the relationship with existing ones. Overall customer numbers were up more than 400,000 during the quarter to 37.8 million. Primary relationships grew by 170,000 to 11.2 million, boosted by inflows in our Challengers & Growth Markets, particularly in Australia. We are on track to achieve our goal of 14 million primary relationships by 2020." "We rolled out new products and services in the first quarter to create an easier experience and empower customers in new ways. These included ING Global Index Portfolios, developed jointly in the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, with each unit contributing vital parts to the whole. This low-cost and easy-to-use investment product expands our offering in those markets and provides customers with an alternative to savings accounts." "We took an important step to become the preferred platform for business customers by acquiring a 75 percent stake in Payvision, an innovative service that connects merchants and payments providers by facilitating more than 80 payment methods in 150 currencies. This technological leap will strengthen and expand ING's digital payments business, especially in e-commerce."