ING sees "record" number of customers as 2017 net profit grows 18%

ING Australia has reported $348m statutory net profit after tax for the whole of 2017 up 18% from the previous year. This comes amid “record” customer growth and a 68% rise in the number of Australians treating ING as their main bank.

“We entered the Australian market with a pioneering online savings account and now we’re a bank that satisfies the everyday financial needs of Australians, from transactional          accounts and credit cards to mortgages and superannuation,” ING CEO Uday Sareen said in a statement.

The non-major welcomed over 300,000 new customers in 2017. Total savings rose by 8.3% to $39.76bn, while total loans rose 9.9% to $52.58bn. The bank's residential home loan portfolio reached $42b.

Wholesale bank and business lending accounted for over a third of new loan growth. Sareen said growing business and wholesale bank lending helped diversify the bank’s income and loans.

“[W]e plan to continue growing and serving more corporate customers in Australia in 2018 with a focus on real estate, utilities & infrastructure, metals and mining, oil and gas, telecommunications and media,” Sareen added.