ING PROFILE ING is a global financial institution
with a strong European base, offering banking services through its
operating company ING Bank. The purpose of ING Bank is empowering
people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank’s
more than 57,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking
services to customers in over 40 countries. ING Group shares are
listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels
and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).
Sustainability forms an integral part of ING’s strategy, evidenced
by ING’s leading position in sector benchmarks by Sustainalytics
and MSCI and our ‘A-list’ rating by CDP. ING Group shares are
included in major sustainability and Environmental, Social and
Governance (ESG) index products of leading providers STOXX,
Morningstar and FTSE Russell. In January 2021, ING received an ESG
evaluation score of 83 ('strong') from S&P Global Ratings.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION Elements of
this press release contain or may contain information about ING
Groep N.V. and/ or ING Bank N.V. within the meaning of Article 7(1)
to (4) of EU Regulation No 596/2014. Certain of the statements
contained herein are not historical facts, including, without
limitation, certain statements made of future expectations and
other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s
current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or
events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such
statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ
materially from those in such statements due to a number of
factors, including, without limitation: (1) changes in general
economic conditions, in particular economic conditions in ING’s
core markets, including changes affecting currency exchange rates,
(2) the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and related response
measures, including lockdowns and travel restrictions, on economic
conditions in countries in which ING operates, on ING’s business
and operations and on ING’s employees, customers and
counterparties, (3) changes affecting interest rate levels, (4) any
default of a major market participant and related market
disruption, (5) changes in performance of financial markets,
including in Europe and developing markets, (6) political
instability and fiscal uncertainty in Europe and the United States,
(7) discontinuation of or changes in ‘benchmark’ indices, (8)
inflation and deflation in our principal markets, (9) changes in
conditions in the credit and capital markets generally, including
changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness, (10)
failures of banks falling under the scope of state compensation
schemes, (11) non-compliance with or changes in laws and
regulations, including those financial services and tax laws, and
the interpretation and application thereof, (12) geopolitical
risks, political instabilities and policies and actions of
governmental and regulatory authorities, (13) legal and regulatory
risks in certain countries with less developed legal and regulatory
frameworks, (14) prudential supervision and regulations, including
in relation to stress tests and regulatory restrictions on
dividends and distributions,, (also among members of the group),
(15) regulatory consequences of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal
from the European Union, including authorizations and equivalence
decisions, (16) ING’s ability to meet minimum capital and other
prudential regulatory requirements, (17) changes in regulation of
US commodities and derivatives businesses of ING and its customers,
(18) application of bank recovery and resolution regimes, including
write-down and conversion powers in relation to our securities,
(19) outcome of current and future litigation, enforcement
proceedings, investigations or other regulatory actions, including
claims by customers who feel mislead and other conduct issues, (20)
changes in tax laws and regulations and risks of non-compliance or
investigation in connection with tax laws, including FATCA, (21)
operational risks, such as system disruptions or failures, breaches
of security, cyber-attacks, human error, changes in operational
practices or inadequate controls including in respect of third
parties with which we do business, (22) risks and challenges
related to cybercrime including the effects of cyber-attacks and
changes in legislation and regulation related to cybersecurity and
data privacy, (23) changes in general competitive factors,
including ability to increase or maintain market share, (24) the
inability to protect our intellectual property and infringement
claims by third parties, (25) inability of counterparties to meet
financial obligations or ability to enforce rights against such
counterparties, (26) changes in credit ratings, (27) business,
operational, regulatory, reputation and other risks and challenges
in connection with climate change, (28) inability to attract and
retain key personnel, (29) future liabilities under defined benefit
retirement plans, (30) failure to manage business risks, including
in connection with use of models, use of derivatives, or
maintaining appropriate policies and guidelines, (31) changes in
capital and credit markets, including interbank funding, as well as
customer deposits, which provide the liquidity and capital required
to fund our operations, and (32) the other risks and uncertainties
detailed in the most recent annual report of ING Groep N.V.
(including the Risk Factors contained therein) and ING’s more
recent disclosures, including press releases, which are available
on www.ING.com. This document may contain inactive textual
addresses to internet websites operated by us and third parties.
Reference to such websites is made for information purposes only,
and information found at such websites is not incorporated by
reference into this annual report. ING does not make any
representation or warranty with respect to the accuracy or
completeness of, or take any responsibility for, any information
found at any websites operated by third parties. ING specifically
disclaims any liability with respect to any information found at
websites operated by third parties. ING cannot guarantee that
websites operated by third parties remain available following the
filing of this document or that any information found at such
websites will not change following the filing of this document.
Many of those factors are beyond ING’s control. Any forward looking
statements made by or on behalf of ING speak only as of the date
they are made, and ING assumes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information or for any other reason. This document does not
constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to
purchase, any securities in the United States or any other
jurisdiction. |