ING Champions Digital, AI, and Financial Education

Core Insights - ING has a legacy of innovation, having launched ING Direct in the late 1990s as a branchless banking model to reduce costs and offer higher savings rates, expanding this model to multiple countries before digital onboarding became mainstream [2] Group 1: Company Overview - ING employs 60,000 people globally, including 20,000 engineers, and operates in over 100 countries, with a balance sheet exceeding €1.1 trillion, over €700 billion in customer lending, and nearly €740 billion in deposits [3] - The retail business accounts for half of ING's capital and two-thirds of its profits, serving over 40 million clients, and is a leading mortgage lender in Europe with over €300 billion in housing loans and €100 billion in loans to SMEs [4] Group 2: Digital Strategy - Digital innovation is central to ING's strategy, with 1.2 million clients joining digitally last year without human interaction, 70% of loans processed through digital workflows, and 90% of sales occurring online, alongside a mobile app receiving 170 million visits weekly [5] - ING is integrating generative AI in various operations, including customer contact centers and lending, with plans for agentic AI in mortgage operations starting in Germany and the Netherlands [5] Group 3: Financial Literacy and Wealth Transfer - The upcoming generational wealth transfer in Europe presents both challenges and opportunities for financial literacy, with European households lagging behind Americans in investment growth, particularly in Italy where less than 10% of portfolios are in equity [6] - ING employs a three-pillar approach to improve financial literacy: innovation, personalization, and transparency, delivering 91% of investment proposals through digital channels and emphasizing goal-oriented advice [7]