ING Group N.V.
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Company History
Founded 1991 in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1991, Amsterdam: the merger of Nationale-Nederlanden, one of the Netherlands' largest insurance companies, and NMB Postbank, a bank with roots in the Dutch postal savings system, created a financial institution with both insurance and banking capabilities under a single corporate structure. The combination was called ING — Internationale Nederlanden Groep — and it was, from the beginning, an entity that didn't fit neatly into conventional banking or insurance categories. The 1997 launch of ING Direct in Canada was the experiment that changed the industry. A bank account with no branches, no fees, and a higher-than-average interest rate — accessible only by telephone and, eventually, the internet. The proposition was simple enough to explain on a billboard and compelling enough to attract millions of customers who had never considered switching banks before. ING Direct expanded to the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Australia, and the United Kingdom within a decade. The 2000 acquisition of Bank Brussels Lambert added corporate banking capabilities in Belgium. The 2007 acquisition of Oyak Bank in Turkey added emerging market exposure. The 2008 global financial crisis exposed the gap between ING's deposit funding base and its investment portfolio — a mismatch that required the €11 billion Dutch state bailout that triggered the European Commission's forced divestiture requirements. The 2018 AML fine of $845 million — imposed by Dutch prosecutors for systemic failures in transaction monitoring and customer due diligence — represented both a financial cost and an operational catalyst. The compliance infrastructure investment that followed has been substantial, and the cultural change it forced has been cited by management as a necessary, if painful, transformation.
ING Group possesses a complex, consolidated founding story, representing the historic amalgamation of the deepest roots of Dutch financial history, eventually culminating in an ambitious 1991 mega-merger. The foundational origins of the conglomerate trace back to several distinct, historic Dutch institutions. The insurance pillar originates from 1845 with the founding of the Assurantie-Maatschappij tegen Brandschade (a fire insurance company) and the prestigious Nationale Levensverzekering-Bank (a life insurer) in 1863, which eventually merged in 1963 to form Nationale-Nederlanden (NN). The banking pillar traces back to 1881 with the founding of the Rijkspostspaarbank (the populist Dutch State Post Office Savings Bank), designed entirely to encourage ordinary Dutch citizens to save money. This eventually morphed into the powerful Postbank, an unique institution that dominated Dutch retail banking without having a single traditional bank branch (operating entirely through post offices). The defining corporate explosion occurred in 1991. The conservative Nationale-Nederlanden (insurance) executed a staggering, historic mega-merger with NMB Postbank Groep (banking) to officially form ING Group. This consolidation was driven by a regulatory change that finally allowed banks and insurers to merge. For nearly two decades, ING operated as an aggressive global 'bancassurance' pioneer, utilizing its deep Dutch historical roots to build a complex, ambitious global financial empire that eventually grew too large to safely manage.
Nationale-Nederlanden and NMB Postbank merged to create ING Group.
ING acquired Barings after its collapse, expanding investment-banking exposure.
ING received Dutch state support during the global financial crisis.
ING continued the separation of insurance activities as it refocused on banking.
Steven van Rijswijk became CEO during the pandemic and low-rate banking cycle.
ING reported EUR 25.678B total income and EUR 8.324B profit attributable to owners.
Rescued Barings after the Nick Leeson derivatives trading scandal collapsed the 233-year-old bank. ING acquired Barings for £1, inheriting its client relationships and Asian banking network.
Acquired Equitable of Iowa to expand US life insurance and annuities, later sold as part of ING's post-2008 divestiture program.
Major US insurance acquisition to build ING's American life insurance platform, subsequently divested.
Turkish retail banking acquisition to build presence in an emerging European market; later sold in 2019.
Since its establishment in 1991, ING Group N.V. expanded from an early-stage venture into a recognized leader in Banking and financial services, overcoming key market challenges.
Over its history, ING Group N.V. executed decisive strategic pivots toward scalable monetization and digital distribution, securing its current market leadership.
By continually modernizing operations and embracing workflow automation, ING Group N.V. maintains resilience through changing technological and economic cycles.