ING Group
ING is a Dutch universal bank with 40.8M customers and a full banking license across Europe.
On the record
Checkpoint: Q2 2026 earnings release, plus any ruling in the Milieudefensie climate lawsuit
The call
ING holds its ground on regulatory depth and deposit trust while neobanks nibble at the edges of everyday banking apps.
ING is a traditional full-service bank: it takes deposits, makes loans, runs payment systems, and serves both regular people and big companies across Europe. Young people in places like the UK and France are switching to cheaper phone-based banks like Revolut and N26 for everyday spending and travel money, which threatens ING's hold on under-35 customers who might otherwise become loyal lifelong depositors. ING is fighting back by bundling fees, credit cards, and perks into a subscription service rolling out to all nine countries by mid-2027, and the key question is whether that keeps young people as primary customers or whether Revolut and N26 keep winning them anyway.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. ING runs AI internally (5,000+ engineers on Copilot, agentic mortgage tools) to cut costs, not as an external threat to its business. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Revolut, N26. Revolut (45M+ users) and N26 pull younger customers into apps for FX and everyday spending, chipping at ING's secondary-account share. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. A full banking license, ECB deposit backing, and 30%+ primary-bank status with Dutch households that neobanks cannot legally replicate.
What would change this call
ING's mobile primary customer count in quarterly reports through 2026. Rising count signals neobank pressure isn't converting into primary-relationship loss.
Amsterdam court ruling in Milieudefensie v. ING climate case. An adverse ruling could force capital or business changes, denting flexibility.
Subscription-banking rollout results in under-35 segment across the nine markets by mid-2027. Retention or loss of younger primary accounts to Revolut/N26 becomes measurable.
Amsterdam court ruling in Milieudefensie v. ING climate case. An adverse ruling could force capital or business changes, denting flexibility.
Subscription-banking rollout results in under-35 segment across the nine markets by mid-2027. Retention or loss of younger primary accounts to Revolut/N26 becomes measurable.
Key numbers
- 40.8M customers, 100+ wholesale countries
- CET1 capital 13.0%, above 11.06% floor
- Mobile primary customers rose to 15.4M
Named risks
- Milieudefensie v. ING climate lawsuit pending since March 2025 could force financed-emissions cuts.
- Russia exit stalled after April 2026 sale collapse, leaving sanctions and reputational exposure unresolved.
- Subscription-banking fee rollout draws consumer backlash after 135% basic-account fee rise 2019-2024.
- Neobanks Revolut and N26 could erode under-35 primary-bank relationships despite current growth.
- Rising ECB SREP CET1 minimum (11.00% for 2026) could constrain future buyback/dividend flexibility.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| BNP Paribas | contesting | Analyst commentary names it ING's largest pan-European rival with bigger balance sheet, as of 2026-03-19 |
| Banco Santander | contesting | Cited as larger direct competitor with stronger investment-banking and Latin America reach, 2026-03-19 |
| Revolut | gaining on | ING says Revolut exceeded 45 million customers by 2025, pressuring ING's retail deposits and FX/app experience |
| N26 | gaining on | ING flags N26 as eroding secondary-account and app-UX relationships among under-35 retail customers |
| Deutsche Bank | contesting | Leads German investment banking/global markets versus ING's German retail footprint |
| Rabobank and ABN AMRO | contesting | Domestic Dutch rivals contesting mortgages, SME and corporate/wealth banking |
Questions people ask
- Is ING Group profitable in 2026?
- Yes. ING posted Q1 2026 net result of €1.556 billion on €5.823 billion income, with rolling ROTE at 13.6% as of 2026-03-31, following a record FY2025 (€23.0B income, €6.327B net result), its third consecutive record year.
- Could AI replace ING Group's banking business?
- No. ING uses AI (5,000+ engineers on Copilot, an agentic mortgage-exception assistant piloted March 2026) as an internal efficiency tool, not a substitute for its banking license, €1.316T balance sheet, and 13.0% CET1 capital base as of Q1 2026.
- Who owns ING Group?
- ING Group is publicly traded on Euronext Amsterdam/Brussels and the NYSE with no controlling parent. Its largest disclosed shareholder is BlackRock at 7.3%, per a February 2024 Schedule 13G filing; ING also runs an active €1.0 billion buyback announced 2026-04-30.
- Did ING Group sell its Russian business?
- No. A January 2025 agreement to sell ING Bank Eurasia to Global Development JSC was terminated in April 2026 after the buyer failed to secure Russian regulatory approval, leaving ING's Russia exit unresolved as of mid-2026.
- Who is ING Group's biggest competitor?
- Analysts point to BNP Paribas and Banco Santander as ING's largest pan-European rivals with bigger balance sheets, while neobanks Revolut and N26 pressure ING's retail deposits and FX business, prompting ING's 2026 subscription-banking rollout.
- Is ING Group facing legal risk from climate activists?
- Yes. Milieudefensie filed a formal summons against ING Group and ING Bank on 2025-03-28 in Amsterdam District Court seeking court orders to compel emissions reductions tied to ING's financing activities; the case remains pending as of mid-2026.
Timeline
- 2026-07-06ING announces ~40% stake in Singular Bank (Spain, ~€19B assets), closing expected Q1 2027
- 2026-06-30ING confirms 5,000+ engineers on Copilot and MCP adoption with open-sourced API-to-MCP connector
- 2026-06-07ING scales agentic AI assistant for mortgage exceptions, piloted since March 2026
- 2026-04-30ING announces €1.0 billion share buyback, expected to conclude by 26 October 2026
- 2026-04-30Sale of ING's Russian business to Global Development JSC terminated
- 2026-04-29Q1 2026 results: €5.823B income, €1.556B net result, ROTE 13.6%
- 2026-01-31ING upgrades 2027 targets to income above €25B and ROTE above 15%
- 2025-12-31FY2025 results: record €23.0B income, €6.327B net result, ROTE 13.6%; ECB 2026 SREP process completed
- 2025-03-28Milieudefensie files formal summons against ING Group and ING Bank in Amsterdam District Court
Revision history
22 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- ING Group (2026-07-19)
- ING global company website (2026-04-29)
- ING_Press_Release_4Q2025
- ING Groep (ING) Number of Employees 2000-2025 (2026-06-28)
- 2Q2026 Comparative Quarters Note
- ING global company website (2026-07-05)
- ING global company website (2026-06-07)
- ING: Turning AI Pilots Into Production (2026-06-21)
- How ING is Using Agentic AI to Streamline Banking Operations (2026-06-25)
- ING CTO on AI, APIs and Europe's payments overhaul (2026-06-30)
- Milieudefensie v. ING Group and ING Bank (2025-03-27)
- ING global company website (2026-07-13)