By Maarten van Tartwijk
AMSTERDAM-- ING Groep NV said Wednesday that its profit rose in
the second quarter as the Dutch lender expanded its loan book,
booked a gain from an asset sale and reduced its loan-loss
provisions.
The Netherlands' largest bank by assets said net profit rose 27%
to EUR1.36 billion ($1.49 billion), lifted by a EUR376 million gain
tied to the sale of its stake in Vysya Bank, an Indian lender.
Underlying pretax profit, which strips out divestments and other
special items, rose 25% to EUR1.6 billion.
The results, which were slightly below analysts' expectations,
were boosted by continued growth of ING's lending book, which led
to an increase in net interest income of 4% to EUR3.1 billion,
while loan-loss provisions dropped 13% to EUR353 million. This was
partly offset by a decline in commission income, which fell 2% to
EUR584 million.
Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at maarten.vantartwijk@wsj.com
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