By Maarten van Tartwijk
AMSTERDAM--ING Groep NV (INGA.AE) on Thursday recorded a sharp
rise in first-quarter earnings as the Dutch bank benefited from a
pickup in lending activity and lower provisions for bad loans.
Net profit was 1.77 billion euros ($1.99 billion) in the first
three months of 2015, compared with a EUR1.92 billion loss in the
same period a year earlier, when a series of restructuring-linked
charges weighed on the bottom line.
Underlying pretax profit, a preferred measure of ING's operating
performance which strips out divestments and other special items,
rose 41% to EUR1.66 billion, beating analysts' expectations.
"This strong performance was achieved despite the challenging
operating environment, characterized by unprecedented low interest
rates and the uneven economic recovery," Chief Executive Ralph
Hamers said.
ING, the Netherlands' largest bank by assets, in November repaid
the final chunk of state aid it received during the financial
crisis and has nearly completed a restructuring that has
transformed it into a smaller Europe-focused lender.
-Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at maarten.
vantartwijk@wsj.com
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