Standard & Poor's affirmed its double-'A'-plus counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on ING Re (Netherlands) N.V. (ING Re Netherlands) on June 14, 2002, following its annual review of the company. The outlook is negative. The affirmation reflects Standard & Poor's opinion that ING Re Netherlands is a core operating entity of the ING insurance group. ING Re Netherlands, a wholly owned subsidiary of ING Verzekeringen N.V. (INGV; AA-/Negative/A-1+), is considered by Standard & Poor's to be a key operating entity of ING Corporate Reinsurance, a business unit formed in December 2001 to focus on intragroup reinsurance and run-off reinsurance operations. ING Re Netherlands' role is to implement the ING group's risk management strategy using reinsurance, through the creation
