ING to wind-up retail banking operations in the Philippines by end of year

Dutch financial services firm ING has announced it plans to end its retail banking operations in the Philippines before the end of 2022.

The news follows the company’s decision to discontinue its French retail banking operations in December last year.

ING launched its retail business in the Philippines in 2018 and has had presence in the country since 1990, serving corporate and institutional clients.

Its retail banking operations in the country were intended to lay the groundwork for a wider expansion across Asia.

However, the company says “the uncertain global macro situation in the last few years led to ING deciding not to expand the activities to other countries, which meant that the retail operations in the Philippines had to be re-assessed for its scalability as a standalone business”.

The decision comes despite the business showing “good progress, commercial momentum and growth potential” and boasting more than 380,000 customers.

Hans Sicat, country head of ING Philippines, says: “ING will continue to invest in growing our wholesale banking business to strengthen our position in the country, and we have plans to increase our focus on sustainable finance.”

The company says retail customers in the country “need not do anything now as there is no change to their accounts”, adding that they will be notified of next steps.

“They can continue to access their funds and accounts anytime and their money remains safe and secure.”