ING Group inks deal to exit Russia

Dutch financial firm ING Group announced on Tuesday that it has finalized an agreement to sell its Russian business to Global Development JSC, a company owned by a Moscow-based investor.

Under the terms, Global Development will acquire ING Bank (Eurasia) JSC, taking over all Russian onshore activities and staff. The transaction, to be closed in the third quarter of 2025, will effectively end ING’s activities in Russia.

ING expects a negative profit and loss (P&L) impact of around €0.7 billion ($0.73 billion) post tax.

This includes an estimated book loss of around €0.4 billion, representing the difference between the sale price and the book value of the business, which would have a negative impact of about five basis points on ING’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio.

It also includes an estimated negative impact of approximately €0.3 billion from recycling the currency translation adjustment through P&L. This currency translation adjustment recycling will not affect ING’s CET1 ratio and net profit.

Post transaction, ING will continue to further reduce its offshore exposure to Russian clients. This exposure, which is booked by other ING entities outside of Russia, amounted to €1 billion as of September 30, 2024, of which €0.5 billion is under Export Credit Agency (ECA) or Credit and Political Risk Insurance (CPRI) cover.

Upon the completion of the acquisition, Global Development intends to continue to serve customers in Russia under a new brand.