ING launches 1 billion euro buyback as profit beats expectations
ING Groep's Strong Quarterly Performance and Share Buyback
Quarterly Profit Surpasses Analyst Expectations
April 30 (Reuters) - ING Groep on Thursday launched a 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) share buyback as it beat quarterly profit expectations, boosted by a strong performance across the board with costs lower than anticipated.
The bank's first-quarter profit stood at 1.56 billion euros compared with the 1.43 billion euros forecast by analysts polled by the lender and around 100 million euros higher than last year's result.
Income Growth and CEO Statement
"Total income has risen 3% (...) supported by strong commercial net interest income and a 13% year-on-year increase in fee income," the lender's CEO Steven van Rijswijk said in a statement.
Drivers of Fee Income Increase
ING said the double-digit increase in fee income was partly driven by higher customer trading activity, boosting its push to lift net fee and commission income as lower interest rates weigh on lending revenues.
European Banking Sector Trends
On Wednesday, Swiss bank UBS reported a more than 27% jump in investment banking revenue, in a sign European banks are following those on Wall Street to benefit from choppy market conditions.
Outlook and Additional Information
The company confirmed its outlook for 2026 and 2027.
($1 = 0.8578 euros)
(Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega and Jakob Van Calster; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
