ING earnings down in 2025 despite Q4 boost from fee income

ING Group NV on Thursday reported a jump in fourth-quarter profit as revenue climbed, but the Dutch bank reported lower earnings for the full year.

Amsterdam-based ING said its net result was EUR1.41 billion in the three months to the end of December, up 22% from EUR1.15 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Total income for the recent quarter climbed 7.2% to EUR5.80 billion from EUR5.41 billion a year before, as net interest income grew 3.8% to EUR3.82 billion from EUR3.68 billion. Quarterly net fee and commission income jumped 22% to EUR1.22 billion from EUR1.00 billion.

Operating expenses for the quarter were flat at EUR3.34 billion.

However for all of 2025, net result fell 1.0% to EUR6.33 billion from EUR6.39 billion in 2024, despite a 1.9% rise in total income to EUR23.04 billion from EUR22.62 billion.

Net interest income fell 2.3% to EUR14.68 billion in 2025 from EUR15.02 billion in 2024, but net fee and commission income grew 15% to EUR4.60 billion from EUR4.01 billion.

Operating expenses climbed 3.8% in the full year to EUR12.58 billion from EUR12.12 billion.

"In 2025, amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, we have consistently executed our strategy of accelerating growth, increasing impact and further diversifying our income by doing more business with more customers and clients," said Chief Executive Officer Steven van Rijswijk.

He noted that although expenses climbed, they were at the lower end of the outlook ING gave in the third quarter.

The CEO added: "Looking ahead, amid ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, we remain confident that our strategy positions us to create value for all our stakeholders by supporting more customers and clients, and by diversifying income streams."