Dutch lender ING Group reported a net profit of €1.45bn for the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), marking a 7.8% decrease from €1.58bn in Q1 2024.
Profit before tax for the multi-national banking group stood at €2.124m, down 7.4% year-on-year, as higher regulatory costs and loan provisions impacted earnings.
The group’s return on equity for the quarter was 12%, with a four-quarter rolling average of 12.8%. The effective tax rate during the quarter was 28.4%.
ING Group’s total income in Q1 2025 rose to €5.63bn, a 1% increase from €5.58bn in Q1 2024 and a 4.3% rise from €5.4bn in Q4 2024. Growth was driven by higher retail balances, fee income, and mortgage activity.
Net fee and commission income increased by 9.6% year-on-year to €1.1bn, supported by a rise in investment product customers and brokerage activity. Retail fee income rose 18% from the prior year.
Investment income of ING Group rose to €27m, while other income reached €893m.
Net core lending increased by €6.8bn during the reported quarter, led by €8.6bn growth in retail banking, particularly in residential mortgages across the Netherlands and Germany.
Net core deposits grew by a record €22.6bn, including €17bn in retail banking and €5.6bn in wholesale banking.
Commercial net interest income was €3.8bn, down 2.6% year-on-year. While liability margins in the eurozone narrowed, sequential growth of 1.2% was driven by higher deposit volumes and rate adjustments.
Operating expenses totalled €3.2bn, including €361m in regulatory costs. Excluding regulatory and incidental items, expenses stood at €2.83bn, up 6.2% from the previous year due to inflation and investments in front office and digital capabilities.
Loan loss provisions rose to €313m, equal to 18 basis points of average customer lending. Stage 3 risk costs made up €215m, mainly in consumer and business lending portfolios.
Retail banking accounted for €175m of risk costs, and wholesale banking €138m.
ING maintained a CET1 ratio of 13.6%, unchanged from Q4 2024 and well above its 10.76% minimum requirement. A new €2bn share buyback programme was announced, expected to lower the CET1 ratio by approximately 59 basis points.
For 2025, ING expects full-year income to remain flat year-on-year, supported by lending volume and a targeted 5–10% increase in fee income. Return on equity is forecast to remain above 12%, with projected full-year operating expenses between €12.5bn and €12.7bn.
ING Group CEO Steven van Rijswijk said: “While the geopolitical and macroeconomic circumstances remain uncertain, we believe there is an opportunity for Europe to collectively drive competitiveness and resilience through simplification of regulations and investments in infrastructure, technology and defence.
“As one of the largest and most geographically diversified European banks, we are well-positioned to play a key role in supporting this growth while navigating volatility. During these times, we are staying particularly close to our clients to understand their concerns and banking needs.
“Our scale, strong performance and robust capital ratios enable us to provide our customers with the support required to manage uncertainties, mitigate risks and capture opportunities.”
