ING to sell off $10 billion in operations

ING to sell off $10 billion in operations
ING, the Dutch bank and insurer, plans to sell operations that could raise up to $10.6 billion

AMSTERDAM (AP) -- ING NV, the Dutch bank and insurer, said Thursday it plans to sell operations it says could raise up to euro8 billion ($10.6 billion).
The move, unveiled alongside a reshuffling of business units to simplify the company structure, is an increase from a previous target announced in January to raise euro3 billion.
So far, ING has sold its Canadian operations for euro1.4 billion.
"Next to a number of leading positions in key markets, a group of smaller businesses with no clear outlook for market leadership consumes a disproportionate amount of capital," the company said in a statement.
Shares rose 9.9 percent to euro 5.775. They have had a wild ride, falling from above euro25 a year ago and trading as low as euro2.30 in March.
The company's statement Thursday didn't specify which business it would definitely sell or set any time frame for achieving the target. It also didn't say whether there was any interest from buyers.
ING said it now plans to focus mostly on European banking, with extra focus on Belgium and the Netherlands. However, it intends to continue offering both banking and insurance in Europe, Asia and the United States.
It said it doesn't plan to sell its online banking service, ING Direct, and that its life insurance businesses in China and Japan were "under review."
Incoming Chief Executive Jan Hommen was to address investors at a meeting later Thursday. His predecessor, Michel Tilmant, resigned in January after saying ING expected to post a large loss in the fourth quarter, which turned out to be a loss of euro3.1 billion.
ING has received significant aid from the Dutch government since the financial crisis began. Last year it received a euro10 billion investment lifeline to shore up its equity base.
And in January the state assumed most of the risk for euro27.7 billion in troubled U.S. mortgage-backed securities ING owns.

ING said Thursday it has cut 3,500 jobs so far since announcing plans to cut 7,000 in January, around 5 percent of its work force. As of Thursday, ING said it employs 25,000.
Hommen, a former chief financial officer of both Philips Electronics and Alcoa, said that ING's tier 1 capital ratio -- the most widely used measure of a bank's solvency -- was 9.3 percent at year end.

SPLITTING OPERATIONS
(Source Reuters)
ING will start managing its bank and insurance activities separately but Hommen declined to comment directly when asked if this could lead to a future split of the group, saying only "it is a way to make our organization easier and focused."
ING, which ranked as the world's twelfth-largest bank by market value last February, is organized along six business lines, with three focusing on retail banking, wholesale banking and ING Direct, and three on regional insurance groups.
ING will wind down its retail bank operations in the Ukraine, review life insurance activities in China and Japan, and divest U.S. insurance activities such as financial products, group reinsurance, and annuity books when possible.
When ING sold its ING Canada stake in February, analysts earmarked ING's stake in Brazilian insurance group Sul America as a possible divestment.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5380Y020090409

Vastgoedmarkt.nl: ING wordt opgedeeld
(Bron RTL.nl, rtlz)
Het einde van ING Real Estate als aparte onderneming van ING lijkt nabij. ING gaat de organisatie richten op de kerntaken en zich concentreren op Europa. Ook zou bankieren en verzekeren worden gesplitst.
Bronnen
Twee bronnen hebben tegenover Vastgoedmarkt bevestigd dat ING waarschijnlijk al donderdagmorgen bekend zal maken dat de ING Group wordt gestroomlijnd en dat de activiteiten van de bank en de verzekeringstak uit elkaar worden gehaald.
Door deze strategie wordt ING Real Estate opgesplitst. Eind vorig jaar had de vastgoedonderneming met ruim 100 miljard euro mondiaal de grootste portefeuille vastgoed.
Saneren
De divisies Development en Finance zullen worden ondergebracht bij de verzekeringstak, terwijl Investment Management wordt gestald bij de bank. Het zou de bedoeling zijn de grote vastgoedportefeuille van ING snel in omvang te verkleinen om daarna te verzelfstandigen of te verkopen.