Amsterdam-based ING group has reported 38.2% increase in its total underlying net profit for the first quarter of 2013, which stood at €800m compared to €579m during the same period earlier year.
For the three months ended on 31 March 2013, its net profit increased to €1.8bn, or €0.47 per share, after special items and net gains on divestments.
ING Group CEO Jan Hommen said that the bank's measures to optimize the balance sheet and de-risk the investment portfolio, is meeting its capital, funding and liquidity targets, and enabling to selectively grow its loan book.
"The return on IFRS-EU equity for the Bank also improved to 9.0% in the first quarter, approaching our target range of 10-13% for 2015," Hommen added.
Its banking operation's underlying result before tax grew to €1.16bn, compared to €1.15bn during the corresponding period last fiscal.
Insurance EurAsia operating result for the current quarter stood at €79m, against €129m, while Insurance ING US operating result declined slightly to €87m compared to €119m in during the year ago quarter.
Its Bank core Tier 1 ratio strengthened from 11.9% to 12.3% or 10.9% on a fully-loaded Basel III basis
ING offers banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services, with operations mostly concentrated in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand.
