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    ING
    Earnings call· Dec 2025(Q4 FY25)

    ING GROEP NV ING

    Jan 29, 2026 Source

    Executive summary

    ING Groep Q4 FY25 — Strong Commercial Growth and Upgraded 2027 Outlook

    ING Groep delivered a strong Q4 FY25, marked by continued commercial momentum across retail and wholesale segments, driving robust loan and deposit growth. The company achieved record total income for the third consecutive year and exceeded its FY25 ROE guidance. Management upgraded its 2026 and 2027 outlooks, emphasizing sustained income diversification, disciplined cost management, and a commitment to attractive shareholder returns, while transitioning to a ROTE metric.

    Highlights

    5

    • Added over 350,000 mobile primary customers in Q4, bringing total FY25 growth to over 1 million.

    • Loan growth was robust with an 8.3% increase for FY25, including EUR 10.1 billion in Retail Banking and EUR 10.3 billion in Wholesale Banking in Q4.

    • Core deposits rose by EUR 38.1 billion for FY25 (5.5% growth), with Retail Banking contributing EUR 11.3 billion in Q4.

    • Fee income grew by 15% for FY25, now accounting for 20% of total income, including a EUR 66 million one-off benefit in Q4.

    • Return on equity for FY25 was 13.2%, exceeding initial guidance, with net profit exceeding EUR 6.3 billion.

    Concerns

    3

    • Wholesale Banking experienced a small net outflow in core deposits in Q4 due to lower short-term balances in cash pooling activities.

    • Treasury income was impacted by lower results from foreign currency hedging due to lower interest rate differentials.

    • Net addition to Stage 3 provision amounted to EUR 389 million in Q4, mainly driven by individual Stage 3 provisioning for new and existing funds in Wholesale Banking.

    Guidance & targets

    21
    CategoryTargetConfidence
    Total Income
    around EUR 24 billion
    high materiality
    High
    Fee Income Growth
    5% to 10% increase
    medium materiality
    High
    Total Operating Expenses (excl. incidentals)
    EUR 12.6 billion to EUR 12.8 billion
    high materiality
    High
    Total Annual Cost (excl. incidental and regulatory costs)
    EUR 11.6 billion to EUR 11.8 billion
    high materiality
    High
    CET1 Capital Ratio Target
    around 13%
    high materiality
    High
    Return on Equity (ROE)
    14%
    high materiality
    High
    Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE)
    higher than 14%
    high materiality
    High
    Total Income
    exceed EUR 25 billion
    high materiality
    High
    Fee Income
    exceed EUR 5 billion
    medium materiality
    High
    Operating Expenses (excl. incidentals)
    around EUR 13 billion
    high materiality
    High
    Return on Equity (ROE)
    15%
    high materiality
    High
    Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE)
    more than 15%
    high materiality
    High
    Liability Margin
    lower end of the 100 and 110 basis point range
    medium materiality
    High
    Lending Margin
    remain stable
    medium materiality
    High
    Fee Growth
    further 5% to 10%
    medium materiality
    High
    Other Income (excl. incidentals)
    around EUR 2.8 billion
    medium materiality
    High
    Customer Balance Growth
    around 5% per year
    medium materiality
    High
    CET1 Impact from SRTs
    15 to 20 basis points
    high materiality
    High
    Cost Savings from Restructuring
    approximately EUR 100 million
    medium materiality
    High
    FTE over Customer Balances Target
    decrease of 10%
    medium materiality
    High
    Net Interest Income Growth
    over EUR 1 billion
    high materiality
    High

    Segment performance

    2
    SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
    Retail Banking
    Driven mainly by residential mortgages and benefiting from targeted campaigns and seasonal inflows in deposits, particularly in the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland.
    Net core lending growth (Q4): EUR 10.1 billionCore deposit growth (Q4): EUR 11.3 billionNPS: #1 position in 5 out of 10 markets
    		————
    Wholesale Banking
    Supported by strong demand in lending and working capital solutions, but saw a small net deposit outflow mainly due to lower short-term balances in cash pooling activities. Strong results in Financial Markets and Corporate Finance.
    Net core lending growth (Q4): EUR 10.3 billionCore deposit outflow (Q4): small net outflowNPS: 77
    		————

    Operational metrics

    24
    Mobile Primary Customers Added
    350,000
    Q4 FY25

    Bringing total growth for the year to over 1 million, in line with Capital Markets Day target.

    Total Mobile Primary Customers Added
    over 1 million
    FY25

    Fully in line with the ambitious target set at Capital Markets Day.

    Total Income
    record levelthird consecutive year
    FY25

    Fueled by strong NII and fee performance.

    Sustainability Volume Mobilized
    EUR 166 billion28% increase versus 2024
    FY25

    Reflects commitment to supporting clients in sustainability transitions.

    Commercial NII
    EUR 15.3 billionvery strong
    FY25

    Supported by significant increase in customer balances, largely offsetting expected margin normalization.

    Fee Income as % of Total Income
    20%
    FY25

    Reflects structural drivers such as customer growth and increased cross-sell.

    FTE over Customer Balances Ratio Improvement
    more than 7%
    since 2023

    Indicates higher efficiency from investments in scalability.

    Net Profit
    EUR 6.3 billion
    FY25

    Contributed almost 2 percentage points to CET1 ratio.

    Capital Distributed (Additional)
    EUR 3.6 billion
    FY25

    Helped bring CET1 ratio closer to target level.

    Share Price Increase
    almost 60%
    2025

    Reflects attractive yield from consistent cash dividends and share buybacks.

    Cash Payout (January)
    EUR 500 million
    January 2026

    Helped meet the cash hurdle for the year, finalized at EUR 3.3 billion.

    Capital Allocated to Retail Banking
    54%
    Current

    Increased from a previous target of 55% for retail and 45% for Wholesale Banking.

    Capital Allocated to Wholesale Banking
    46%
    Current

    Reduced from a previous target of 45% for Wholesale Banking, indicating optimization efforts.

    Liability Margin Range
    90 to 100 basis points
    Pre-negative rates environment

    Historical operating range for ING.

    Restructuring Cost Savings
    EUR 100 million
    Annualized

    Expected benefit from restructuring provisions for planned FTE reductions in corporate staff and retail banking implemented in 2025.

    Commercial NII
    EUR 3.7 billion
    Q2 FY25

    Reached a trough in Q2.

    Commercial NII
    EUR 3.8 billion
    Q3 FY25

    Improved from Q2.

    Commercial NII
    EUR 3.9 billion
    Q4 FY25

    Improved from Q3.

    Hedging Tailwinds
    EUR 400 million
    FY26

    Refers to decreasing short-end pressure, benefit of Q4 rate cuts materializing, and positive long-end replication.

    Current Account Balances
    EUR 175 billiongrown EUR 5 billion
    Q4 FY25

    Increasing current account balances drive better margins.

    Business Banking Lending Book
    EUR 114 billion
    Q4 FY25

    Company-wide business banking lending book, with Germany starting from a very small base.

    Impact of Repricing Actions on NII
    EUR 700 million
    FY26

    Factored into the NII guidance for 2026.

    Implied Liability Margin Increase
    EUR 600 million
    FY26

    Implied increase for liability margins in 2026, with about half due to volume and half due to margin improvement.

    Deposit Pass-Through Rate
    42%
    Q4 FY25

    Analyst question regarding current assumption for deposit cost and pass-through.

    Industry KPIs

    12
    MetricValueDetails
    Loans8.3%%
    DepositsEUR 38.1 billionEUR
    Rotce ROE13.2%%
    Cet1 ratio13%%
    Capital returnsEUR 3.6 billionEUR
    Fee income lines15%%
    Net interest incomeEUR 15.3 billionEUR
    Net interest margin126bps
    Net charge offs npls—
    Total operating expenses—
    Provision for credit lossesEUR 365 millionEUR
    Efficiency ratio operating leverage—

    Product announcements

    5
    ProductTypeDetails
    Investment Product Offering Expansionexpansion
    Subscription Model for Retail Clientslaunch
    Propositions for Gen Zlaunch
    Business Banking Propositionslaunch
    Fee-Generating Capital-Light Productsexpansion

    Deals & partnerships

    2
    [indiscernible]Financial stake in private banking

    Took a financial stake in private banking of [indiscernible] last year.

    Goldman SachsAcquisition of majority stake (100%) in an asset manager in Poland

    Announced in Q4, buying the majority and eventually 100% of an asset manager in Poland from Goldman Sachs (the 55% stake).

    Risks & headwinds

    5
    Inflationary Pressure on Staff ExpensesFY26

    main driver of the increase

    Mitigation: Offset by operational efficiencies and increased scalability.

    Lower Short-Term Balances in Cash PoolingQ4 FY25

    small net outflow

    Mitigation: Seasonal reduction in treasury, offset by increased deposit volume in PCM.

    Lower Income from Foreign Currency HedgingFY26

    less income

    Mitigation: Due to current lower interest rate differential between the euro and other currencies (e.g., USD, TRY).

    Increased Stage 3 ProvisionsQ4 FY25

    EUR 389 million

    Mitigation: Mainly driven by individual Stage 3 provisioning for new and existing funds in Wholesale Banking, partly offset by releases from repayments and secondary market sales.

    Pressure on New Production Mortgage MarginQ4 FY25

    a bit of pressure

    Mitigation: Noted in the Netherlands, while other markets (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain) saw improvements.

    What to watch in Q1 FY26

    5

    Share Buyback Program Completion

    April 2026
    Currentunderway
    Targetcompleted

    Why it matters

    Completion of the program will finalize the capital return for the period and impact share count.

    The share buyback program we announced in November is currently underway and is expected to be completed in April 2026.

    Q&A highlights

    6

    Inquired about the assumptions for the EUR 25 billion total income guidance, specifically regarding volume growth and liability margins for 2027, and the strategy for RWA growth in Wholesale Banking given recent increases.

    Management confirmed a 5% balance growth assumption for the outlook, noted the liability margin is expected at the lower end of 100-110 bps for 2026, and stated that SRT transactions will continue in 2026/2027 to positively impact CET1 by 15-20 bps, offsetting Wholesale Banking RWA growth.

    “For '26 and '27, by the way, we want to continue to do these SRTs... and we expect that to have an impact -- a positive impact on CET1 of 15 to 20 basis points, so a bit higher than we realized over 2025.”

    asked by Benoit Petrarque · answered by Steven van Rijswijk

    2 min read5 chapters

    Detailed Narrative

    01

    Commercial Momentum & Diversification

    ING demonstrated strong commercial momentum in Q4 FY25, adding over 350,000 mobile primary customers and achieving over 1 million for the full year. Loan growth was robust at 8.3% for FY25, with significant contributions from both Retail and Wholesale Banking. The company is actively diversifying income streams by expanding investment product offerings, introducing subscription models in retail, and growing fee-generating capital-light products in Wholesale Banking.

    02

    Operational Efficiency & AI Adoption

    The bank continues to strengthen operational leverage through disciplined cost management and technology adoption. Investments in growth are offset by enhanced operational efficiency, with the FTE over customer balances ratio improving by over 7% since 2023. ING leverages AI and Gen AI in areas like contact centers, IT coding, lending, personalized marketing, and KYC, expecting these to drive further efficiency gains and help achieve its 10% FTE over customer balances reduction target ahead of schedule.

    03

    Capital Allocation & Shareholder Returns

    ING generated over EUR 6.3 billion in net profit in FY25, contributing almost 2 percentage points to its CET1 ratio. The company remains committed to attractive shareholder returns with a 50% payout policy for regular cash dividends. Additional distributions of EUR 3.6 billion were announced, and a share buyback program is underway, expected to complete in April 2026. Capital allocation priorities include value-accretive growth, capital-efficient loan book funding, and returning excess capital above the CET1 target.

    04

    Strategic Priorities & Outlook Upgrade

    The "Growing the Difference" strategy focuses on growing and diversifying income, improving operational leverage, and generating strong capital. ING has increased capital allocated to Retail Banking to 54% and is optimizing capital usage in Wholesale Banking, including through SRT transactions. This strategic confidence led to an upgraded outlook for 2026 and 2027, with higher total income and ROTE targets, reinforcing its ambition to be a leading European bank.

    05

    Balance Sheet Management

    While loan growth outpaced deposit growth in FY25 (8% vs 5.5%), management aims for a balanced approach over the long term⏳. Deposit campaigns are used strategically to attract new customers and funds, with approximately two-thirds of new money sticking with the bank. The bank also noted a net addition to Stage 3 provisions in Q4, primarily from individual Wholesale Banking exposures, but remains confident in its loan book quality.

    AI-generated summary of the company’s earnings call. Not investment advice.