ING Group closed the first nine months of 2026 with attributed net profit of 5,353 million euros, which represents an increase of 8.9% compared with the same period of the previous year, according to the Dutch entity, which in parallel will undertake a workforce reduction of 400 jobs linked to the reorientation of its wholesale banking business.
The financial group’s turnover up to September reached 18,334 million euros, 6.4% more, driven by the 14.5% rise in net interest income, which stood at 12,443 million, while income from fees increased by 12%, to 3,786 million.
In the first nine months of the fiscal year, ING Group’s provisions rose to 1,028 million euros, 9.6% more than a year earlier, with an increase of 23.6% in the third quarter, when they totaled 403 million.
On the contrary, regulatory costs accumulated up to September fell by 5.7%, to 477 million euros.
Between July and September, ING Group recorded attributed net profit of 1,850 million euros, 3.5% higher than in the third quarter of 2025, while the Dutch bank’s quarterly revenue grew 5.6% year on year, to 6,227 million.
At the end of the third quarter, return on tangible equity (RoTE) stood at 16.3%, above the 15.4% of a year earlier. In turn, the CET1 core capital ratio reached 13.3%, compared with 13.1% in the previous quarter and 13.4% in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
"ING has had a solid third quarter of 2026, thanks to the continued execution of our strategy and excellent commercial and financial performance," Steven van Rijswijk, CEO of ING, has said, underscoring the persistent geopolitical uncertainty, volatility and pressure on the confidence of households and companies during those months.
In its forecasts, ING expects total 2026 revenue to exceed 24,500 million euros, with around 5,000 million euros coming from fees. Likewise, it expects operating expenses, excluding extraordinary items, to be between 12,600 and 12,800 million, with a RoTE above 15% and a CET1 ratio close to 13%.
By 2027, the financial group maintains its target that total income will exceed 26 billion euros, of which between 5.3 and 5.5 billion would correspond to commissions, while operating costs would be around 13 billion. The entity then expects a RoTE above 16% and a CET1 capital ratio of around 13%.
Job cuts and new structure
As part of the redesign of its wholesale banking activity, aimed at simplifying processes, ING has announced that it will implement a more flexible structure and will rename this area Corporate and Institutional Banking, in order to better reflect its focus on corporate clients.
As a result of this reorganization, which will be effective on March 1, 2027, various positions will be changed and the bank estimates that around 400 employee departures will occur on a global scale.
Linked to this plan, the group expects to record in the fourth quarter of 2026 a provision for severance indemnities before tax of around 175 million euros. In return, ING estimates that the adjustment will allow cost savings of nearly 75 million euros annually, fully materializing from 2028 onward.
Share buyback and shareholder remuneration
In parallel, ING announced this Thursday a new distribution to its shareholders for a maximum of 1.9 billion euros, combining a share buyback program of up to 1.65 billion and a cash payout of 250 million euros, with the aim of keeping the CET1 ratio aligned with the 13% threshold.
The share buyback plan starts this same Thursday and is scheduled to conclude, at the latest, on April 26, 2027, while the cash payment of 250 million euros will be made on January 14, 2027.