ING, the Amsterdam-based banking and insurance group, wrote off €194 mln of its investment in sub-prime mortgage products in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Shareholders’ equity shrank by a €751 mln as result of the crisis in the US mortgage market, news agency ANP reports.
The write-downs were relatively small in relation to the huge losses booked by some other banks in connection with the credit crisis. Analysts had expected ING’s losses to be anywhere in the region of €200 mln to €2 bn.
For the whole of 2007, ING booked net profit 20% higher at €9.24 bn.