ING Confirms Sale of U.S. Bank Operations, and Restructuring

Dutch financial services and insurance giant ING confirmed that it would sell its U.S. investment banking operations to Holland’s ABN Amro bank for an estimated $275 million, and would restructure its European and foreign operations.

While exiting the U.S. investment banking field, which the company said was ” barely profitable,” ING intends to continue activities in Europe, Asia and Latin America under a revised organizational structure.

As previously announced there will be job losses, mainly in the ING divisions of Barings Bank, which will be fully integrated into ING’s other financial operations. The company expects to take a one time only charge of around $450 million to cover the costs of the restructuring.

“The Group’s goal is to build a single wholesale and financial markets organisation centered around Europe that offers a comprehensive range of services to its European and international clients,” said the announcement.

Topics USA Europe