ING Bank headed by bankero Hans Sicat in the Philippines is leaving the retail banking market in the Philippines before the end of 2022.
“ING has a history in the Philippines that goes back more than 30 years. In that time, we’ve developed strong and steady partnerships with a number of the country’s largest corporations and financial institutions. We are proud of our leading positions in M&A, corporate advisory and capital markets,” the bankero said.
ING is the second foreign bank to exit the country’s consumer banking segment after Citigroup’s retail banking segment was sold to Union Bank of the Philippines headed by bankero Edwin Bautista late last year for P55 billion.
ING’s retail business in the Philippines launched in 2018 with now more than 380,000 client was intended as the first step and foundation for a broader Asia retail banking plan. The business has demonstrated good progress, commercial momentum and growth potential.
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.
The Dutch financial giant would continue to invest in its wholesale banking business and global shared services operations in the Philippines.
“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 and telecommunications, infrastructure, financial institutions, among others,” Sicat added.
ING has been present in the Philippines since 1990 serving corporate and institutional clients. It currently has around 120 employees in both wholesale and retail banking.
ING said its retail customers need not do anything now as there is no change to their accounts.
“They can continue to access their funds and accounts anytime and their money remains safe and secure. They will be notified soon and can visit www.ing.com.ph for more information,” it said in a statement.
On the other hand, IBSS Manila CEO Cees Ovelgonne said the business has now more than 3,000 employees who provide 24/7 global support services for ING in areas such as financial markets, lending services, client due diligence and on-boarding activities, risk management, retail operations, non-financial risk & compliance, and IT from less than 50 workers when it was established in 2013.
“Extended capabilities and services have driven our growth and development in recent years. We have had to move to bigger premises several times since 2013; and have plans to take up an additional 12 floors in One Ayala Tower 2 in the next few months to accommodate our growing diverse teams as we take on additional projects and services this year and beyond,” Ovelgonne said.
