ING wants to double its activities in private banking, wealth management, and investments by offering these services globally. In recent months, the bank introduced private banking in Poland.
European banks want to be less dependent on interest income and are looking to diversify through fees and commissions. ING announced such a strategy in the spring of 2024, saying it would focus on private banking and wealth management. Shortly afterward, ING appointed Anneka Treon as Global Head of Private Banking, Wealth Management, and Investments, with the mission to develop a “wealth management revenue stream.” Investment Officer spoke with her and with Johan Kloeze (photo), who became the new head of Private Banking and Wealth Management Netherlands in September.
Anneka Treon, you started at ING in September last year. How did you approach this new role?
Treon: “I first wanted to understand this organization and the way our strategy has been built. Soon after I joined, we brought together 35 leaders from across the bank. The message was very clear: we have a very, very strong growth ambition.
“For three days, we talked about what we had done in recent years, what worked, and how we could improve. It was the first time that all our leaders from different countries met in person to really evaluate each other’s businesses critically.
“During that meeting, we felt the urgency to move faster. Building everything separately in each country would take too long and slow down innovation. At the same time, we wondered whether our activities were comparable enough. As we got to know each other better, we concluded that it’s possible—as long as we respect and acknowledge local differences. Those differences exist, but most of what we do is actually quite similar.”
“In the end, we drew two important conclusions from that meeting. First, we need to focus our strategy more clearly from the customer’s perspective. Second, we must offer our propositions globally, because they are strong. We also saw the need for harmonization. ING has served customers in different ways and used various approaches, which has not always been the most efficient.”
A Spanish Bob already exists!
Anneka Treon
That’s why ING recently established the Global Investment Center?
“Yes. We are pooling the expertise developed in our investment offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and our Investment Manco in Luxembourg. Depending on needs, we’ll expand the new organization with additional investment offices in other countries. Within this new setup, we’re harmonizing our investment practices so that successful initiatives can be rolled out more widely. Naturally, there will remain local differences, such as tax regulations, but I’m convinced this center will allow ING to use its investment capabilities much more intelligently.”
An investment office in every country, each with its own CIO, like Bob Homan in the Netherlands?
“Exactly—we want ‘a Bob’ in every country.” (Laughs:) “We already have a Spanish Bob!”
Which countries is ING focusing on?
“This spring, we launched private banking in Poland and introduced key wealth management features in Spain, such as financial planning. We’re not saying we want to roll out private banking in every country or sell as many investment funds as possible everywhere.”
“With the centralization and expansion of our investment activities, we see the Global Investment Center as a single platform. Depending on customer needs in each market, we can draw from the full range of products and services developed there. To emphasize this unity, we also report on total assets under management and the number of investing clients.” (As of September 30: 268 billion euro.)
Johan Kloeze, you became head of Private Banking and Wealth Management Netherlands in September, following the departure of Katja Kok earlier this year. What does the Global Investment Center mean for private banking in the Netherlands?
“The Dutch operations benefit from this consolidation just as much as others. ING is heavily investing in private banking, which gives us every opportunity to keep improving our services. We’re also focusing more on what we can share with other countries—for instance, our private markets offering. We launched it in the Netherlands, then in Belgium, and we’re now exploring ways to expand it to other countries.”
We don’t compete by serving the best champagne at our events
Johan Kloeze
Isn’t the Dutch market very different from other European ones?
Kloeze: “There are many similarities too. As a leadership team, we’ve defined what ING stands for. Broadly speaking, it’s about a no-nonsense approach and deeply personal service. These traits make ING appealing across all markets. We don’t need to win the red-carpet contest—we don’t compete by serving the best champagne at our events. We compete by knowing our clients’ needs in detail and shaping the organization to serve them best. For example, we’ve worked hard to streamline onboarding: we’ve reduced the process from fifteen days to just over ten.”
Between Katja Kok’s departure and your appointment, seven months passed. What happened in that time?
Treon: “We made a conscious decision to take our time. Peter Jacobs, CEO of ING Netherlands, filled the role temporarily, and together we wanted to gain a clearer understanding of the Dutch business—who our clients are, what they need, and in which segments we can improve. Those strategic questions had to be answered before determining what kind of leader we needed for the Netherlands.”
What are the long-term goals of internationalization?
“We want to double our business.”
In terms of revenue, profit, assets under management?
“I won’t specify, but believe me, the ambitions are significant. ING has forty million customers worldwide, of whom thirty-three million are active. Nearly five million of them invest—but what about all the others? We want to help them prepare financially for the future. Saving alone isn’t the answer, as everyone knows, so we want to make financial planning and other investment services available to them.”
Organic growth, acquisitions—we’re considering both
Anneka Treon
When presenting annual results in early 2025, ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk told Reuters that the bank was exploring possible acquisitions of competing European banks. Treon confirms that possibility again here in connection with international wealth expansion. For now, besides the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, only Poland is designated as an official private banking country. “In other markets, we’re still exploring opportunities,” she said. “First, we’re assessing where we already see potential within our existing operations—where we have strong corporate franchises and client bases. Second, we’re looking at the external market. That could mean organic growth or acquisitions—we’re considering both.”
“But even if a country doesn’t yet have a private banking unit, that doesn’t mean we don’t have wealthy clients there. They exist, but they’re not categorized separately—they fall under retail clients. At the same time, in many of those countries, we already offer investment solutions through the ING Investment Office. In a way, it matters less whether you call something private banking or not. What matters is that our services fit the client’s life stage and ambitions.”