ING launches 1 billion euro buyback as profit beats expectations
ING Groep's Strong Quarterly Performance and Market Impact
By Mateusz Rabiega and Jakob Van Calster
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 and cost controls.
Quarterly Profit and Fee Income Growth
First-quarter profit stood at 1.56 billion euros, ahead of the 1.43 billion euros forecast by analysts polled by the lender and around 100 million euros higher than last year's result.
Drivers of Profit Growth
Profits were driven in part by a 13% increase in fee income, boosting the Dutch bank's push to lift net fee and commission income as lower interest rates weighed on lending revenues in 2025.
Customer Trading Activity
Higher customer trading activity aided the double-digit increase in fee income, ING said.
Shares in ING rose around 2% in early trading in Amsterdam, pushing the stock back into gains year-to-date.
Interest Rate Outlook and Market Reactions
Interest Rates on the Up?
ING's commercial net interest income - the difference between the interest gathered from borrowers and paid out to depositors - climbed by 7% to 4.06 billion euros. Analysts at UBS predict the metric is set to pick up again in 2026 and 2027.
Inflation Risks and Central Bank Actions
Additionally, inflation risks from the war in Iran may force central banks around the world to once more lift rates, which would further boost lenders' interest income.
Potential Impact on Earnings
Van Rijswijk, however, cautioned rate hikes would impact earnings elsewhere through weaker hedging and treasury results.
"What we see in commercial income, will go down in other income," the CEO told reporters, as the bank confirmed its outlook for this year and the next.
Peer Performance
ING's France-based peers Societe Generale and Credit Agricole also posted their quarterly reports on Thursday with the latter missing expectations due to higher provisions on Iran war uncertainty.
($1 = 0.8578 euros)
(Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega and Jakob Van Calster; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
