Kirishanthan Vijayarajah

Kirishanthan Vijayarajah of HSBC requested more color on the drivers of the 24% growth in insurance fees, including geographies and products. He also asked whether the recent strength in retail brokerage activity is sustainable or a temporary phenomenon.

Answer

CEO Steven van Rijswijk attributed the insurance fee growth to a multi-year strategic effort across all retail markets. On brokerage, he noted that while Q1 was strong, significant upside remains as most customers do not yet trade with ING, and the bank is confident in its ability to continue growing this business.

Kirishanthan Vijayarajah of HSBC asked if the Wholesale bank's RWA share could fall below the 45% target, given recent progress, and inquired about assumptions for maturing term deposits in Belgium within the NII guidance.

Answer

Executive Steven van Rijswijk confirmed the 45% Wholesale RWA target for 2027 and said future goals would be updated after more progress. CFO Tanate Phutrakul noted that Belgian term deposits mature late in 2025 and that ING is actively cross-selling, expecting funds to shift into other savings products.

Kirishanthan Vijayarajah questioned the rationale for not introducing an interim dividend, especially after a peer announced one. He also asked a technical question about the hedging of non-euro-denominated RWAs in the CIB division.

Answer

Executive Jerome Grivet responded that the bank is not philosophically opposed to an interim dividend but considers it a technicality that doesn't create value, and will observe competitors' actions. Regarding RWAs, he clarified that the bank does not hedge RWAs directly but rather hedges the solvency ratio by matching the currency denomination of capital components with asset proportions.

Inquired about the bank's concern over U.S. commercial real estate (CRE) deterioration, and asked how the 30 bps of capital related to the delayed FRTB rule would be used if the rule is never implemented—reinvested or returned to shareholders.

Answer

The company stated it has minimal concern over U.S. CRE as it sold its main exposure. Regarding the potential 30 bps of freed-up capital from FRTB, the strong preference is to reinvest it organically for high returns, followed by bolt-on acquisitions, with returning it to shareholders being the last resort.

Sought more detail on the quarter-on-quarter NII decline in Belgium, as headwinds seemed to be priced in already. Also asked for clarification on the French inflation hedges, questioning if they become a positive tailwind in 2025 and its potential magnitude.

Answer

The Belgian NII headwinds were only partially reflected in Q4, with Q1 being the first full quarter of impact. The French inflation hedge's negative impact will last for two more quarters. The bank assumes the hedge will become effective again at year-end when deposit pricing is expected to return to being inflation-linked, but did not quantify a positive tailwind for 2025.

Asked about the impact of the Belgian government's bond issuance on deposit pricing and questioned the bank's M&A strategy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Answer

The executive stated there has been no visible impact on deposit pricing in Belgium. Regarding CEE, the bank sees itself as a seller, not a buyer, as it divests certain activities and focuses its growth strategy on leveraging its integrated model in the Eurozone, not on acquiring banks.