Largest bank of Netherlands exits Russia
Photo: ING left Russia (Getty Images)
ING Groep, the largest bank in the Netherlands by assets, has announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its business in Russia to Global Development JSC. This effectively means the cessation of all its activities in the Russian market, Reuters reports.
Under the agreement, the Russian firm, owned by a Moscow-based financial investor, will buy all shares of ING Bank (Eurasia) to serve customers in the country under a new brand.
The financial terms of the sale are not disclosed.
The deal is expected to have a negative impact on ING’s results after taxes of approximately €0.7 billion.
The sale of assets is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approval. Meanwhile, the group plans to continue reducing its offshore presence with regard to Russian clients.
As of the end of September, the risk amount stood at €1 billion.
ING stated that after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it did not engage in new business relationships with Russian companies, reduced its operations in the country, and began separating its business from its larger network and systems, cutting the total volume of loans to Russian clients by more than 75%.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that European banks that remained in Russia tripled their profits since the start of the war. Large European banks continue to manage increasingly profitable divisions in the country despite public promises to close them.
The profit of the subsidiary of Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International has more than tripled during this period, while Intesa's profit increased around 20 times.
According to Reuters, the total number of employees in the five European Union banks with the largest operations in Russia fell by only 3% after the invasion.
