By Maarten van Tartwijk
AMSTERDAM-- ING Groep NV said Monday it will resume dividend
payments next year as the bailed-out Dutch bank seeks to move on
from years of restructuring prompted by the financial crisis.
ING said during an investor day in Amsterdam that it aims to pay
a dividend over 2015 and it will target a payout ratio of at least
40%. It would be ING's first dividend payment since it came close
to collapsing in the 2008 financial crisis and needed government
support to stay afloat.
The shareholders' reward will only follow after ING has cut the
government lifeline. The bank still owes EUR1.03 billion ($1.4
billion) in state aid and premiums, which it plans to pay back in
May next year.
The move underscores that European banks are slowly returning to
health as they emerge from a deep financial and economic crisis,
and years of restructuring.
ING, the Netherlands' largest bank by assets, is about to
complete a five-year overhaul imposed on it by European Union
antitrust regulators as a condition of its government bailout. The
lender has shed thousands of jobs, sold off dozens of assets and is
readying its European insurance business for an initial public
offering.
"Now that we are in the end stage of the restructuring, with our
divestment program and repayment of the Dutch state almost
complete, we are proud to be in a position to look ahead to the
future," said Chief Executive Ralph Hamers in a statement.
Mr. Hamers, a 47-year-old ING veteran who took over the helm in
October, sought to convince investors of ING's growth prospects,
which are under pressure from tighter regulations and a weak
economy in the Netherlands.
Speaking to analysts, Mr. Hamers said ING has room to expand
outside its home market. He pointed to Germany, Italy and Spain,
where ING has established a successful deposit gatherer through its
online franchise, ING Direct.
Mr. Hamers also said ING will keep a lid on costs and invest in
information-technology to adapt to what he called a "rapidly
changing banking landscape."
Mr. Hamers said ING aims to grow lending by an annual 4% in the
period to 2017. Cost savings and an expected drop in provisions for
bad loans should lead to a return on equity, a key measure of a
bank's profitability, of 10% to 13%, he said.
The goals were broadly in line with targets that ING announced
at a previous investor day in 2012.
Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at maarten.vantartwijk@wsj.com
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