ING PROFILEING 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.ING's ESG
rating by MSCI was upgraded to 'AA' in December 2020. 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
INFORMATIONElements 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.ING Group’s annual accounts are prepared in accordance
with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the
European Union (‘IFRS- EU’). In preparing the financial information
in this document, except as described otherwise, the same
accounting principles are applied as in the 2020 ING Group
consolidated annual accounts. All figures in this document are
unaudited. Small differences are possible in the tables due to
rounding. 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 and customer
behaviour, 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 concerning financial
services, financial economic crimes 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 document. 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 publication 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. |