ING''s retail arm does well after first year

ING Bank plans to expand the number of offices through which it provides services to private customers from the current 56 to 200 by the end of next year, Paul Prodan, the banks” deputy general manager, told Ziarul Financiar. The bank is focusing on covering towns with 75,000-100,000 inhabitants for the time being and is looking to approach tourist areas or more specialist locations like railway stations and airports next year. Having launched this type of service a year ago, the bank now has 100,000 accounts through its ING Office network. The Self”Bank concept on which ING Retail”s programme is based allows customers to perform banking operations without having to stand in line or rush to the bank during business hours. The machines used for transactions are available between 7am and 11pm and allow customers to withdraw and deposit cash in RON and perform multiple operations, ranging from transfers between accounts and foreign currency exchange to paying utility bills, such as telephone, gas and electricity bills. ZF