Tuesday, 26 March 2013: ING DIRECT Australia today announced a net profit after tax of $276.9 million for the 12 months to 31 December 2012, down 9% on the previous year’s record profit.

ING DIRECT CEO, Vaughn Richtor says funding costs were difficult in the first half of the year but an easing in costs in the second half allowed us to deliver 25bps cuts to variable mortgage rates in both October and December.

“Striking the right balance between customer and shareholder enabled us to deliver on our fair value promise to customers,” Mr Richtor said.

ING DIRECT delivered strong growth across retail deposits and established itself as a competitive force in the Australian superannuation market.

Highlights include:

• Living Super customer accounts opened 9,335 (as of March 2013)
• Funds Under Management in superannuation to $223 million (as of March 2013)
• Retail deposits up 10% to $28.5B
• Total deposits to loans ratio climbed to 70% (up from 62%)
• Risk costs down $20 million

Mr Richtor says customers have shown a strong appetite for a low cost highly competitive superannuation product.

“We believe Australians pay too much in superannuation fees and Living Super provides an alternative, a balanced fund with no administration or management fees – a first for all Australians,” Mr Richtor said.
“We are very pleased with the launch of Living Super with both customer numbers and funds under management.

“We have made the product simple enough to be sold direct and the fee proposition is very compelling.”

After establishing itself as Australia’s first direct bank and a savings champion, ING DIRECT now offers customers payment accounts, superannuation, home loans and savings.

“Our strategy is about becoming the primary bank for our customers.

“There is strong growth in the number of customers who choose two or more of our products and we intend to foster this growth into the future,” said Richtor.

ING DIRECT’s regulatory capital ratio stands at 12.6% at the end of 2012.

-ENDS-

For full accounts, visit the ING DIRECT Online Newsroom here
For images of Vaughn Richtor click here
Media contact:
David Breen
Head of Corporate Affairs, ING DIRECT
Ph: 0412 933 060
Email: david.breen@ingdirect.com.au

About ING DIRECT
ING DIRECT pioneered branchless banking in Australia by offering the first online, high interest, fee free savings account. Our low cost operating model allows us to pass these savings on to the customer in the form of great value products and services. Today, ING DIRECT has more than 1.4 million customers with $26 billion in deposits and $38 billion in mortgages and a range of innovative banking products.
Please note ING DIRECT is never abbreviated to ING.

Buy/Sell spreads and other incidental transaction costs apply to all managed investment options, including the Balanced fund. Buy/Sell spreads and other transaction costs are retained within the managed investment and are not fees paid to ING DIRECT or the Trustee. The Trustee may replace one or more of the underlying investment managers which may affect the fee structure for the investment options. The Trustee may vary the fees for ING DIRECT Living Super without your consent by giving 30 days notice.The Trust Company (Superannuation) Limited ABN 49 006 421 638, AFSL 235153, RSE L0000635, is the Trustee of the ING DIRECT Superannuation Fund ABN 13 355 603 448 (Fund) and the issuer of interests in the Fund.  ING DIRECT Living Super is a product issued out of the Fund. ING DIRECT, a division of ING Bank (Australia) Limited ABN 24 000 893 292, AFSL 229823, is the Promoter of the Fund and the issuer of this document.   Eligibility criteria for ING DIRECT Living Super apply. Any advice provided does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and you should consider whether it is appropriate for you.  You should consider the Product Disclosure Statement available at ingdirect.com.au when deciding whether to acquire, or to continue to hold the product.

The source for the statement ‘The first Balanced fund for all Australians with no administration or management fees’ is SuperRatings Fee Research April 2012. This research included information about the default options of 372 currently available and closed superannuation funds. The accuracy of the information relied on by SuperRatings was the responsibility of the trustees of the relevant superannuation funds