How Does ING Groep Company Work?

How is ING Groep reshaping European banking?

ING Groep reported a 2025 net profit of 7.6 billion EUR and serves ~39 million customers across 40 countries, pivoting from a Dutch lender to a digital-first global bank.

ING combines a vast retail deposit base, wholesale banking and digital platforms to sustain liquidity and a CET1 ratio of 14.8 percent, making it a bellwether for Eurozone banking.

How does ING Groep Company work? It integrates retail banking, wholesale services, and technology-led products—see ING Groep Porter's Five Forces Analysis for one strategic lens.

ING operates a dual-pillar model—Retail Banking and Wholesale Banking—under a unified digital-first value proposition that emphasizes customer empowerment and streamlined operations.

Retail and Wholesale Pillars

Retail Banking focuses on Market Leaders and Challengers; Wholesale serves corporates and institutions with sector-specialized products.

Digital-First Value

The 'do your thing' philosophy drives seamless mobile and web experiences; by 2025 over 95 percent of interactions were digital.

One Architecture

The centralized One Architecture technology stack standardizes products across geographies, lowering IT overhead and speeding rollouts.

Funding and Franchise Synergy

Low-cost retail deposits fund wholesale lending, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem that supports higher-margin corporate credit.

Wholesale Banking combines relationship management with analytics-driven risk assessment to serve energy, infrastructure and technology clients, while Retail segments are split into Market Leaders (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg) and Challengers (Germany, Australia, Spain, Italy and others).

Operational Highlights & Metrics

Key operational facts and performance indicators that define ING's operating model and business strategy.

• By 2025 branch footprint reduced materially versus peers due to digital adoption; cost-to-income ratio targets linked to One Architecture efficiency gains.
• Retail deposit base provides a stable funding mix; net interest income benefits from blended retail-wholesale funding.
• Wholesale revenue driven by sector expertise in energy, infrastructure and technology with tailored lending and markets services.
• Standardized platforms enable faster product launches across markets; centralized tech reduces duplication and local IT spend.

Further reading on ING Groep structure and strategy: Growth Strategy of ING Groep

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Revenue Streams and Monetization Strategies for ING Groep center on interest margin management, fees and commissions, and financial markets income, supported by regional diversification and digital distribution.

Net Interest Income (NII)

Net Interest Income made up about 72 percent of total revenue in 2025, equal to roughly 16.2 billion EUR, driven by the interest spread on mortgages, corporate and consumer loans.

Deposit Pricing Discipline

ING protected margins in 2025 through disciplined deposit pricing and active balance-sheet management despite ECB moves toward neutral policy in late 2025.

Fee and Commission Income

Net Fee and Commission Income was about 3.9 billion EUR in 2025 from payments, investment management and Wholesale Banking advisory fees.

Cross-selling & Wealth

Cross-selling in insurance and private wealth management expanded fee revenue and reduced reliance on interest rate cycles as part of the ING business model.

Financial Markets & FX

Trading income and foreign-exchange services contribute materially, with markets activities providing diversification against NII volatility.

Regional Profit Drivers

The Netherlands remains the largest profit source; Germany accounted for nearly 25 percent of group retail profit in 2025 due to a highly efficient, branchless model.

Key monetization levers in ING Groep's operating model combine product mix, pricing and digital distribution to stabilize revenue and support growth across markets.

Revenue Composition and Strategic Levers

ING's structure and operating model focus on balancing NII with fee diversification and regional efficiency to manage margin risk and capture growth.

• Primary driver: Net Interest Income — ~16.2 billion EUR in 2025.
• Secondary: Net Fee & Commission Income — ~3.9 billion EUR in 2025.
• Diversification: Financial Markets, FX, and trading income for volatility hedging.
• Regional strategy: Netherlands core, Germany high-growth retail contributor (~25% of retail profit).

Further context on ING Groep structure and commercial strategy appears in Marketing Strategy of ING Groep.

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Key milestones include the 2024–2025 completion of ING's 'Scale Up' strategy, refocusing capital on high-growth European corridors and reallocating billions toward digital transformation and sustainable finance; operational efficiency and AI adoption underpin its competitive edge.

Scale Up completion (2024–2025)

ING exited non-core retail markets such as France and the Philippines to concentrate resources on core European markets, freeing capital for strategic priorities.

Capital reallocation

The bank redirected billions into digital transformation and sustainable finance, prioritizing ROI in high-growth corridors and tech-driven services.

Operational efficiency

ING reported a cost-to-income ratio of 53.2 percent in 2025, one of the lowest among large European banks, supporting reinvestment and resilience.

AI-driven personalization

By early 2026, ING's proprietary AI managed over 40 percent of routine customer inquiries and delivered real-time retail investment insights, boosting engagement.

ING's sustainability positioning and governance strengthened market trust and investor flows into transition finance, aligning lending with the Terra approach and the Paris goals.

Strategic advantages and implications

ING leverages lean operations, AI, and green finance to defend margins and capture growth in digital and ESG-linked segments.

• Efficient operating model: cost-to-income ratio 53.2% in 2025
• AI scale: > 40% of routine inquiries automated by early 2026
• Sustainability moat: leadership in green bonds and Terra-aligned lending
• Focused geographic footprint after exiting non-core markets to boost capital deployment

See a detailed breakdown of business lines and revenue mechanics in Revenue Streams & Business Model of ING Groep for further context on ING Groep structure, ING business model, and how ING bank operates.

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ING Groep ranks among the top five Eurozone banks by market capitalization and operates across 40 countries, combining retail, wholesale and wholesale-led services into a diversified ING business model that reduces concentration risk while facing regulatory and competitive headwinds.

Industry Position

ING's scale places it as a leading pan-European bank with broad retail deposits and a significant wholesale franchise; its ING Groep structure supports both country-led subsidiaries and centralized product platforms.

Geographic Diversification

Presence in 40 countries spreads credit and market risk; the group's international operations are managed through a mix of local banking units and cross-border centres of excellence.

Regulatory Risk

Final Basel III/IV implementation requires higher-quality capital and advanced risk-weighted asset management, pressuring capital planning and potentially raising cost of equity.

Competitive Threats

Specialized FinTechs in payments and SME lending compress fee margins and push ING to adapt its operating model and accelerate digital offerings.

Management is pursuing platform-led growth via Banking-as-a-Service and full generative AI adoption to boost productivity, while steering the balance sheet toward sustainable lending and legacy system wind-downs to meet a targeted ROE trajectory.

Future Outlook & Key Metrics

ING aims for a Return on Equity above 13 percent through 2027 and expects its sustainable lending book to exceed €120 billion by 2027 as part of its decarbonization strategy.

• Platform shift: expand BaaS to monetize third-party products and diversify ING financial services explained revenue streams
• Digitalization: deploy generative AI across front-to-back processes to reduce costs and speed decision-making
• Capital: navigate Basel III/IV with advanced capital optimization to preserve CET1 ratios
• Sustainability: scale sustainable lending and ESG-linked products to capture transition finance demand

For context on peers and market positioning, see Competitors Landscape of ING Groep

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