ING nine-month profit up 8.9% to €5.353bn as Q3 misses forecasts, 400 jobs go

Nine-month results

ING Group recorded a net attributable profit of €5.353bn for the first nine months of 2026, 8.9% above the same period a year earlier. Revenue reached €18.334bn, up 6.4%, with net interest income up 14.5% to €12.443bn and fee income up 12% to €3.786bn. Loan-loss provisions totalled €1.028bn over the period, a 9.6% increase, while regulatory costs fell 5.7% to €477m. The results were published on Thursday, 29 October, the same day the Dutch bank said it would restructure its wholesale unit.

Third-quarter miss

Net profit for July to September came to €1.85bn, 3.5% higher than a year earlier but below the average analyst forecast of €1.97bn reported by German outlets. Third-quarter revenue rose 5.6% to €6.227bn. Provisions for doubtful loans reached €403m, a 23.6% rise in the quarter, against an analyst forecast of €343m, and slightly higher costs also weighed on earnings. Bloomberg reported that the miss followed higher costs and larger provisions for souring loans. Return on tangible equity stood at 16.3%, up from 15.4% a year earlier, and the CET1 capital ratio was 13.3%, compared with 13.1% in the previous quarter and 13.4% a year before.

Reported Q3 2026 net profit1.85

Analyst average forecast1.97

Reported Q3 2026 net profit

1.85 €bn

Analyst average forecast

1.97 €bn

Data from the article text

Job cuts and shareholder payouts

ING will cut about 400 jobs worldwide as part of a reorganisation of its Wholesale Banking unit, which is being renamed Corporate and Institutional Banking. The changes take effect on 1 March 2027, and the bank expects annual cost reductions of about €75m, fully effective from 2028. Belgium is expected to be little affected, with ING saying well below 1% of local staff will be affected and that internal mobility will be favoured where possible. The group employs more than 60,000 people worldwide, around 6,000 of them in Belgium. Separately, ING announced a share buyback worth €1.65bn and an extra cash payment of €250m to shareholders in January 2027, bringing total distributions to €1.9bn.

Outlook and backdrop

ING expects total revenues to exceed €24.5bn, including about €5bn in fee income, and operating expenses excluding one-off items of between €12.6bn and €12.8bn. The bank also expects a RoTE above 15% and a CET1 ratio of around 13%. Its interest income is benefiting from high rates, as loan income has risen while savings rates have not moved up proportionally, and ING has not raised its base savings rates in the Netherlands since April 2025. The European Central Bank raised rates in September for the second time this year to fight inflation linked to the war in the Middle East. Chief executive Steven van Rijswijk described the quarter as solid despite persistent geopolitical uncertainty and pressure on consumer and business confidence.