European Union authorities ordered the bank and insurer split to compensate for the competitive advantage of having a taxpayer-funded backstop in 2008. ING Group now comprises ING Bank NV, and its former insurance arm NN Group, which is held as a discontinued operation.
ING reported "underlying" third-quarter profits of 1.12 billion euros today, up from 820 million euros in the same period a year ago. The figure strips out one-time charges and NN Group results. NN operating profit was up 16 per cent to 274 million euros.