ING

Is ING safe?

Yes. ING is one of the simplest big banks in Europe: most of what it does is take deposits from millions of savers in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Australia and lend them out as mortgages and business loans. At 30 June 2026 its CET1 ratioCET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary was 13.1%, about two points above its 11.10% requirement, and its liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary averaged 137%. We score it 75/100, held back mainly by the €10 billion Dutch rescue it needed in 2008.

Which scheme protects your money

ING's footprint is spread across several legal entities, and some countries use branches, so the deposit guaranteeDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary is not always the one in your country.

Country	Entity	Scheme
Netherlands	ING Bank N.V.	Dutch DGS, €100,000
Spain, Italy	Branches of ING Bank N.V.	Dutch DGS, €100,000
Germany	ING-DiBa AG	German scheme, €100,000
Belgium	ING Belgium	Belgian scheme, €100,000
Australia	ING Bank (Australia) Ltd	Australian Financial Claims Scheme, A$250,000

If you live in Spain and bank with ING, a payout would come from the Dutch scheme run by De Nederlandsche Bank. EU rules require the home and host schemes to work together so you are paid in your own country.

A bank funded by savers

ING's balance sheet is unusually retail. At 30 June 2026, deposits from private individuals were 50% of its funding and other customer deposits a further 22%. Customer deposits of €773 billion covered all €761 billion of loans. Its 12-month average liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary was 137% and its net stable funding ratioNet stable funding ratioA bank's stable funding, such as capital and retail deposits, compared with the stable funding its assets need over one year. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary 128%.

Large retail deposit bases are hard to run on, because most balances are small and insured. The trade-off is that ING depends on interest margins. It has to compete for savings with promotional rates, as it did in Germany in 2026.

Ratings changes in 2026

Two rating moves in 2026 point in different directions, and only one says anything about ING itself. In April Moody's cut ING Bank's senior unsecured rating from A1 to A2. Moody's said this was not about ING's fundamentals but about the EU's new crisis-management rules, which give all deposits priority over senior bondholders in a failure. That is good for depositors and bad for bondholders. In May Fitch raised ING Bank to AA from AA-. S&P rates it A+.

The 2008 rescue

ING was one of the European banks hit hardest in 2008, mostly through its insurance and US mortgage-securities exposure. In October 2008 the Dutch state put in €10 billion of capital. In 2009 it took on most of the risk of ING's portfolio of US Alt-A mortgage securities. The European Commission made ING split off its insurance and investment management businesses as a condition of state aid, which led to NN Group and Voya. ING repaid the state with premiums, finishing in 2014. That history is why stability scores only 45.

Money laundering and conduct

In September 2018 ING agreed to pay €775 million to Dutch prosecutors, €675 million as a fine and €100 million in forfeited profits. Investigators found that from 2010 to 2016 ING had failed to vet customers properly and missed signs of money laundering in Dutch accounts. ING says authorities in several countries have kept up "heightened scrutiny" since.

In 2021 ING also agreed to compensate Dutch customers whose revolving credit and overdraft interest rates did not follow market rates, setting aside €180 million and later €75 million more. Smaller than the 2018 case, but it affected ordinary retail customers.

Practical tips for ING customers

1. Check your contract for the legal entity. In Spain and Italy, it is ING Bank N.V., so the Dutch scheme applies.
2. Count joint accounts correctly: in the EU each holder's share counts toward their own €100,000 limit.
3. Approve logins and payments in the ING app, and do not share a code with anyone who calls. Fake bank calls asking you to move money to a "safe account" are common in the Netherlands and Belgium.
4. If you hold more than the limit, spreading savings across unrelated banks costs nothing and keeps everything covered.

How we scored it

Liquidity (84) and deposit protectionDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary (86) are ING's strongest factors, and capital (78) is solid. Stability history (45) is the weakest because of the 2008 state rescue, and conduct (62) reflects the 2018 money-laundering settlement. Compare Revolut, a digital rival with a very different risk profile, and BNP Paribas.