ING posts 2Q18 net result of €1,429 million

ING continues to record growth in customers and core lending; Think Forward transformation programmes progressing well
·	Primary customer base increased in 2Q18 by 400,000 to 12.0 million; total number of retail customers reached 38.2 million
·	Net core lending in 2Q18 grew by €14.2 billion; net customer deposit inflow amounted to €5.8 billion
ING 2Q18 underlying pre-tax result of €2,022 million; ING declares interim cash dividend of €0.24 per share
·	2Q18 result reflects well-diversified loan growth, solid net fee and commission income, and low level of risk costs
·	ING's 2Q18 four-quarter rolling underlying ROE was 10.4%; ING will pay an interim cash dividend of €0.24 per ordinary share
CEO statement "Our drive to constantly innovate and offer a differentiating customer experience contributed to our strong commercial performance in the second quarter of 2018," said Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group. "Our global customer base reached 38.2 million, of which 12.0 million are primary customers. We are grateful for the trust our customers place in us and are committed to serving them to the best of our ability. Our employees consistently make customers their highest priority while adapting to the many changes brought by our ongoing transformation programmes, which will further improve our service proposition and operational efficiency. "In the second quarter, we undertook several initiatives to build on our ambition to become the 'go-to' place for all the financial needs of customers. We partnered with French insurer AXA to create personalised insurance products and services for customers. Together, we aim to disrupt the insurance market with a digital platform that will offer property & casualty, health and protection insurance in six of our Challengers markets, in a clear and easy way. "We also worked on innovative digital solutions that empower small businesses and entrepreneurs to find the best funding for their specific needs. We partnered with Funding Options in the Netherlands and invested in FinCompare in Germany - two digital platforms that offer small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access to a wide range of financing options that they can easily compare and select. In Poland, we launched Invoice Financing, a digital microfactoring solution for SMEs that we developed in-house. It puts SME customers in control over which invoices they want to finance and when.