Profit before tax of €2,258 million, up 6% year-on-year and 8% quarter-on-quarter
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Further increase in commercial net interest income, supported by sustained growth in customer balances and a higher liability margin
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Strong fee income growth in both Retail and Wholesale Banking, up 13% year-on-year
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Operating expenses decline compared with the fourth quarter and are broadly stable year-on-year
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Four-quarter rolling average return on tangible equity of 13.9%; CET1 ratio of 13.0%
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Announcement of a €1.0 billion share buyback
CEO statement"The first quarter of 2026 unfolded against a backdrop of ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, marked by energy-security risks in the Middle East and the direct and indirect effects across the economies in which we operate. We continue to support our customers and clients in navigating these circumstances," said Steven van Rijswijk, CEO of ING Group. "Our strong performance demonstrates the resilience of our business. We worked closely with our customers and clients on financing, transactions and risk management, while executing our strategy of accelerating growth, increasing impact and delivering value. Based on current assumptions and scenarios, we're on track to achieve our upgraded outlook as communicated during our 2025 full-year results. "Our mobile primary customer base has increased by 125,000, particularly supported by growth in Germany, Poland and Spain, as we continue to do more business with more customers. The number of active investment product customers has increased by 116,000, with strong growth in Germany. "Total income has risen 3% and our net result has increased 7% year-on-year, supported by strong commercial net interest income and a 13% year-on-year increase in fee income. This was mainly driven by our growing customer base and higher customer trading activity in Retail Banking, and strong deal flow in Wholesale Banking, especially in Lending, Trade Finance Services and Corporate Finance. "Lending volumes in Retail Banking have grown by €9.4 billion, of which €5.9 billion in mortgages, driven by strong production in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Australia as demand for mortgages remained solid. Business Banking lending has grown by €2.6 billion as we continue to expand our franchise. In Private Banking & Wealth Management, assets under management and e-brokerage have increased to €281 billion, up 15% year-on-year. Retail deposits have grown by €4.3 billion due to inflows in savings and deposits, while at the same time customers continued to move money into investment products. "In Wholesale Banking, lending has grown by €5.6 billion, driven by a strong net inflow in Lending. Wholesale Banking deposits have grown by €2.9 billion, reflecting higher balances in Payments & Cash Management. Our sustainable volume mobilised has increased to €34 billion, 11% higher than in the same period last year as we continue to support our clients in their sustainable transitions. "Expenses excluding regulatory costs declined 3% versus the previous quarter while showing only a moderate increase year-on-year, as we maintain a disciplined approach to managing our cost structure. Risk costs remained below the through-the-cycle-average at 19 basis points, as a prudent management overlay to address the possible economic effects of the war in the Middle East was offset by repayments. The four-quarter rolling average return on tangible equity rose to 13.9% and our CET1 ratio was 13.0%, which includes the impact of an updated dividend reserving approach. "We announce a share buyback programme of €1.0 billion as we continue to return capital in excess of our ~13% target to our shareholders. Operating at the right level of capital is in the best interest of all our stakeholders, including our customers and the economies where we do business. "We are confident in our ability to serve our customers and clients from a position of strength as we navigate the ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties. We thank our employees across the world who have contributed to our strong performance this quarter."
