ING is preparing to float its Insurance operations as two separate companies, one covering Europe and the other the US, the financial services giant said in a statement on Wednesday.

The US company will focus largely on pensions, while the European arm will also include developing countries, ING said.
The flotations are unlikely to take place before 2012.
‘The fourth quarter of 2011 is a possibility but I would prefer to be on the safe side and go for 2012,’ CEO Jan Hommen is quoted as saying.
The sale of the insurance operations has been forced through by the European Commission as a condition for approving state aid during the financial crisis.

Q3 earnings
ING had a bail-out of €10bn and a €22bn guarantee on its risky US mortgage portfolio.
ING booked net profit of €371m in the third quarter, down 26% on a year ago, largely due to one-offs, the financial services group said in a second statement.
Underlying net profit rose from €727m in the third quarter of 2009 to just over €1bn.