ING booked a loss of €793m in the first three months of this year, the financial services group said in a statement on Wednesday.

The loss is higher than analysts polled by Reuters had expected.
ING posted a €729m loss over 2008 as a whole. The group received a €10bn bail-out from the government last year and a guarantee for 80% of its risky US loan portfolio.
The group’s banking arm booked net profit of €443m, with the insurance side losing €1.3bn, largely due to the revaluation of its investments.
CEO Jan Hommen said the first quarter had been very difficult. ‘Our first priorities are to reduce costs, risk and leverage to strengthen the group. At the same time, we are working to reduce complexity by focusing on fewer businesses and markets,’ he said.