Banks.com.au - Australian Banking, Finance and Investments

The ING group is a financial service company that operates worldwide and is headed by CEO Paul Bedbrook and his team of 10 executive directors. The company has been doing business for almost a century and a half, offering customers various insurance, banking, and asset management services in more than 50 countries all over the globe. It has 120,000 employees working every day to meet the needs of its customers, which include corporations, cottage industries, families and individuals, as well as private and government institutions. The company is considered among the 20 largest financial institutions around the world and ranks in Europe's top 10 biggest financial entities.

In The Netherlands, the company tops the financial services industry with its assortment of asset management, retail banking, and insurance services. Aside from its home market, the company also calls Luxembourg and Belgium home, making them the focal points of its services and activities. The company also does business in the U.S. and Canada, being in the list of the top 5 leading providers of life insurance and retirement services as well as the top casualty and property insurer, respectively. The company has more than 15 million customers and is a major asset manager, having EUR 500 billion in total assets under management.

The company believes in providing every customer the best possible financial products and services. It aims at giving them premium, affordable services that will make customers all the more satisfied. The company's mission is to meet the standards of helping customers address their financial future. It also puts utmost importance on its stakeholders: business associates, employees, customers, shareholders, and the society. More than being a business entity, the company is also poised to become an exemplary corporate citizen of its own.

History

The company started in 1991, when the Nationale-Nederlanden and the NMB Postbank Group formed a merger, which was the Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING). The 15 years that went by since the said partnership began saw rapid changes, which turned the company into a multinational financial service entity catering to numerous nationalities. Currently, ING is also involved in many internationally-held activities.

However, the company started way earlier. The company's founding fathers, the Nationale-Nederlanden and the NMB Postbank Group, have rich and well-established roots. Insurers De Nederlanden van 1845 and De Nationale Levensverzekering Bank, public bank services De Rijkspostspaarbank and De Postcheque-and Girodienst, together with the Nederlandsche Middenstands Bank, are the acknowledged legal predecessors of the company. However, the oldest legal predecessor of all is Kooger Doodenbos, located in Koog, Noord Holland and founded in 1743. The need for regional funds aimed at insuring people, certain, professions, communities, orphans, and widows against ill fortune arose during the time. Later, such organizations were put into the sidelights with the take over of more established and bigger companies like De Nationale Levensverzekering Bank. Fire insurers pioneered in the international scene, breaking into the Dutch Indies first then the larger parts of America and Asia. Such events laid the company's formidable foundation.

The company's history also has some societal notes on it. The separation of Catholics, Protestants, and Socialist/Liberals led to the merger of Protestant or Catholic banks into the NMB and eventually, the ING Group. Following the trend were professional groups like the Bank voor den Diamantenhandel (diamond trade), the Credietbank for Koffiehuis en Restauranthouders (pubs and restaurants), and the Vakbondsspaarbank (Union Savings Bank). These groups figured in some acquisitions and mergers and were likewise added to the ING family.

A major player in the company is the ING Australia Limited, which is now among the country's top fund managers, superannuation providers, and life insurers, having over $40 billion in assets under management. ING Australia is a merger of the global ING Group (owning 51% of the total shares) and ANZ, a top Australian banking institution (owning 49% of the total shares). ING Australia offers financial products and services using its wide linkages to professional financial advisers and institutions.

Overview of Products and Services

The company's product encompasses a broad range of financial service highlights. Among its products are:

• Investments. Customers can avail of diverse investment solutions that are simple and easy.
• Superannuation. This product caters to small, medium, and larger organizations who want to find superannuation solutions. Individuals can also avail of this product.
• Life risk insurance. This provides trauma, life, disabilities, and income protection insurances for families, individuals, and business establishments.
• Retirement. Retirees can enjoy the good life with the retirement services of the company such as allocated pensions, income solutions, and annuities.
• Banking. The company offers various banking services and solutions such as Mortgage Simplifier, Business Optimiser, Savings Maximiser, and Term Deposits.
• General insurance. Among the services in general insurance are car, home, travel, and landlord insurance.

On the other hand, ING Australia's top-of-the-line services include the following:

• ING Insurance offers. The company's insurance services include car, home, travel, landlord, and life insurances. These insurances are tailored to fit its customers' budget and lifestyle. The car insurance offers peace of mind to car owners, whatever car model they drive. ING also provides home insurance with quick online quote and purchase, travel insurance that offers round-the-clock emergency service, landlord insurance to protect house facilities, and the life insurance that offers security and financial assistance to the beneficiaries of deceased plan holders.
• Real estate services. The company's real estate services is an active player in the real estate market sectors worldwide -- seniors, industrial, health care, retail, student housing, and entertainment.
• ING Investment management. This provides mutual funds and investment management capabilities to institutions, government agencies, and individual customers.
• OptiMix. This service is a multi-manager investment solution with over a decade of existence. It gives investors access to top funding institutions, which provide investments to every active asset classes.
• ING Direct. Launched sometime in 1999, ING Direct was a pioneering effort in branchless banking service. At present, it is the 6th largest retail bank, offering interest rates with low cost base to over a million customers. The clients of the company can access their funds using the telephone, the mail, or the Internet.