Negritoiu, ING: We will continue to grow organically

The Dutch at ING, the first foreign bank to have entered the local market fifteen years ago, will finally start making profit from all their lines of business in 2010, after having embarked upon a process of transformation into a universal bank three years ago. “In rethinking the group as a European institution, Romania is an important market. We will continue to grow organically, and all divisions will start making profit next year,” stated Misu Negritoiu, ING Romania’s CEO. In 2006, ING started a project to reposition itself as a universal player, after having created an image of financial boutique with exclusive and expensive products, targeted for multinationals, major state-run companies and wealthy people. The plan includes retail expansion to one million clients, served by a network of about 250 offices. Albert Roggemans, head of the retail division says that this year the bank will go beyond the 900,000-client milestone and have a 200-strong office network, and the operations that started five years ago will finally begin contributing to the bank’s profit. Over the last few years, ING has expanded its offer with products aimed at medium-sized companies and even small firms.