ING to divest insurance operations by 2013

ING is moving towards a complete separation of banking and insurance operations by 2013.
In order to get approval for its restructuring plan, ING needs to divest ING Direct USA by the end of 2013.
ING plans to launch a EUR7.5-billion rights issue to finance the repayment of the Core Tier 1 securities for EUR5 billion. In addition, the rights issue will cover a premium of up to approximately EUR 950 million, as well as mitigate the EUR 1.3 billion, pre-tax capital impact of the additional payments for the illiquid Assets Back-up Facility (IABF).
Over the next four years, the company will divest all insurance operations, including investment management, exploring initial public offerings, sales or combinations thereof.
“Today we are announcing a comprehensive set of actions that, taken together, provide a clear plan for resolving the uncertainty created by the financial crisis and will launch a new era for ING,” Jan Hommen, CEO of ING, commented in a release.
“A little over one year ago, ING began to experience the direct impact of the financial crisis, resulting in two instances of government support to strengthen our capital position and to mitigate risk,” he said.
“Over the last six months, we have worked tirelessly — both inside ING and with the Dutch Government and the European Commission — to devise a plan that will enable us to pay back the Dutch State, address the EC’s requirements for viability and fair competition and return our focus to the business and what matters most to our customers.”