ING a Leader in the Oligopolistic Dutch Banking Sector

Low—currently negative—interest rates and the impact on ING Groep's earnings is likely to weigh on the minds of investors for the foreseeable future. While understandable, as net interest income contributed 77% of its revenue for 2020, this is unfortunate; ING is more than merely a play on European interest rates. We believe ING's strong deposit franchises in its core markets is its greatest competitive advantage. This is completely obscured in the current low interest-rate environment. In our opinion ING has surplus capital, which could boost shareholder returns and a more focused geographical strategy could drive a rerating.