Various

ING Set to Shutter Its Philippines’ Retail Banking Business Before the Year Ends

ING announced that it will leave the retail banking market in the Philippines before the end of 2022.

It will, however, continue to invest in its wholesale banking business and global shared services operations in the Philippines.

According to ING, its retail business in the Philippines was intended as the first step and foundation for a broader Asia retail banking plan.

The bank added that the business has “demonstrated good progress, commercial momentum and growth potential” since its launch in 2018.

However, the uncertain global macro situation in the last few years led to ING deciding not to expand the activities to other countries, which meant that the retail operations in the Philippines had to be re-assessed for its scalability as a standalone business.

ING has been present in the Philippines since 1990 serving corporate and institutional clients. It started its retail banking operations in late 2018 which currently serves more than 380,000 customers with savings accounts, current accounts, and consumer lending.

ING Philippines has around 120 employees in both wholesale and retail banking.

The bank said that its retail customers in the Philippines need not do anything now as there is no change to their accounts.

Customers can continue to access their funds and accounts and they will be notified soon on the next steps.

Hans Sicat

Hans Sicat, Country Head of ING Philippines said,

“ING will continue to invest in growing our wholesale banking business to strengthen our position in the country, and we have plans to increase our focus on sustainable finance. Our high-profile hires are steps in this direction.

We hope to take advantage of the growth prospects in various sectors like renewable energy, technology, media & telecommunications, infrastructure, financial institutions, among others.”