Financial services group ING confirmed on Wednesday it had booked net profit of €499m and underlying profit of €778m in the third quarter of this year, reversing a year of decline.

But the company gave no more details of its plans to split off its insurance activities. ING announced its third quarter figures on October 26, at the same time it broke news of the separation and a €7.5bn rights issue. The split up is part of the agreement reached with the European Commission on ING’s €10bn capital injection from the Dutch state.
CEO Jan Hommen said on Wednesday ING has completed most of the first stage of its restructuring process but gave no more information.
‘It was not an easy decision,’ the Financieele Dagblad quoted him as saying. ‘But I strongly believe this is the right decision at the right moment. The financial services sector will be transformed by the crisis and the winners will be those who win back the trust of their clients.’