ING announced today that it has sold its 5% stake in KB Financial Group (KBFG)
to institutional investors for a total amount equal to approximately EUR 500
million. The transaction is in line with ING's strategic objectives to sharpen
its focus and further strengthen its capital position. ING obtained its stake in
KBFG in 1999 through an investment in Korean bank H&CB, one of the companies
which later formed KBFG.
Today's announcement does not affect ING's Commercial Banking activities in
South Korea. ING's earlier announced process to divest ING's insurance and
investment management businesses in Asia, including ING Life Korea and a 49%
stake in KB Life Insurance (a joint venture with KBFG), is on-going. Any further
announcements will be made if and when appropriate.
The sale of the KBFG stake was executed in a block trade to institutional
investors after the close of the Korea Exchange in Seoul today. The transaction
will result in an after-tax profit for ING Group of approximately EUR 100
million, to be booked in the first quarter of 2013. The transaction will have a
positive impact of approximately 8 basis points on ING Bank's core Tier 1 ratio
based on the 11.9% core Tier 1 ratio as of 31 December 2012.
Press enquiries Investor enquiries
Raymond Vermeulen  ING Group Investor Relations
+31 20 576 6369 +31 20 576 6396
Raymond.Vermeulen@ing.com Investor.relations@ing.com
ING PROFILE
ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin, offering banking,
investments, life insurance and retirement services to meet the needs of a broad
customer base. Going forward, we will concentrate on our position as an
international retail, direct and commercial bank, while creating an optimal base
for an independent future for our insurance and investment management operations
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION
Certain of the statements contained in this document are not historical facts,
including, without limitation, certain statements made of future expectations
and other forward-looking statements that are based on management's current
views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or
events may differ materially from those in such statements due to, without
limitation: (1) changes in general economic conditions, in particular economic
conditions in ING's core markets, (2) changes in performance of financial
markets, including developing markets, (3) consequences of a potential (partial)
break-up of the euro, (4) the implementation of ING's restructuring plan to
separate banking and insurance operations, (5) changes in the availability of,
and costs associated with, sources of liquidity such as interbank funding, as
well as conditions in the credit markets generally, including changes in
borrower and counterparty creditworthiness, (6) the frequency and severity of
insured loss events, (7) changes affecting mortality and morbidity levels and
trends, (8) changes affecting persistency levels, (9) changes affecting interest
rate levels, (10) changes affecting currency exchange rates, (11) changes in
investor, customer and policyholder behaviour, (12) changes in general
competitive factors, (13) changes in laws and regulations, (14) changes in the
policies of governments and/or regulatory authorities, (15) conclusions with
regard to purchase accounting assumptions and methodologies, (16) changes in
ownership that could affect the future availability to us of net operating loss,
net capital and built-in loss carry forwards, (17) changes in credit-ratings,
(18) ING's ability to achieve projected operational synergies and (19) the other
risks and uncertainties detailed in the risk factors section contained in the
most recent annual report of ING Groep N.V.
Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of ING speak only as of the
date they are made, and, ING assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or for
any other reason. This document does not constitute an offer to sell, or a
solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities.
PDF version of press release:
http://hugin.info/130668/R/1678215/547647.pdf
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Source: ING Group via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1678215]
