ING Groep NV Q2 2020 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Kirishanthan Vijayarajah - HSBC, Research Division - Analyst : So you alluded a couple of times to pricing discipline, and you talked about fee packages, deposit repricing. But I'm curious to what extent you've been repricing on the loan side? And is it more than just saying no to loans from just a risk perspective in the wholesale bank? So just some color on where you sort of demonstrated pricing discipline, if you like, on the lending side. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 06, 2020 / 6:30AM, INGA.AS - Q2 2020 ING Groep NV Earnings Call And then just a quick follow-up on the capital management actions you've done this quarter on the RWAs. Just to what extent does that flow through onto the Basel IV ratio? Or were those levers more skewed towards really improving the Basel III ratio, the EUR 11.5 billion of RWA mitigation done this quarter?

Question: Omar Fall - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division - Analyst : So just two, based on costs. So on the EUR 44 million decline in underlying costs, ex the restructuring charge, can you just give us a sense of the scale of the 3 elements you mentioned, the cost savings versus bonuses versus CLA increases? I just don't really understand why you haven't seen the very sizable COVID-related savings that your peers are all seeing in areas like travel or marketing, et cetera. Many of your peers are down, almost

Question: Omar Fall - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division - Analyst : So, Steven, on the Unite, so your predecessor used to tell us that there'd be a kind of hockey-stick effect with the sizable savings to come, kind of, 2021, 2022, as the systems were decommissioned following all the elements of implementation that you've just highlighted. Are you basically saying that, that process is still ongoing and that decommissioning process in 2021 and '22 will lead to those sizable savings? Or you're basically saying that everything is, kind of, in the base of costs from here? And any potential savings from the plan are going to be marginal? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 06, 2020 / 6:30AM, INGA.AS - Q2 2020 ING Groep NV Earnings Call

Question: Raul Sinha - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : If I could just follow up on a couple of points, please. The first one slightly detailed on the oil and gas book Stage 3 ratio, seems to have picked up materially in the second quarter, now 7.8%, even if I adjust for the trade finance book in Q1. Steven, I was wondering if you could discuss what you're seeing here, given the recovery in oil prices. And how you might be looking to proactively manage the risk in this book? And then related point on frauds, I think we had the discussion in the last quarter as well, when there was a big fraud in Asia. Now you have a big fraud in Europe. I was just wondering what lessons the group is taking away from what we are seeing in terms of fraud. And then just very quickly, just to follow up on the dividend discussion. I'm not sure if I missed this. I'm gathering that the progressive dividend payout policy of the yield, obviously, is behind us now. And this view that you're flagging at Q3 is to set a, sort of, new policy. In that context, do you think that there are merits in a, sort of, U.S. model where bank dividend payout ratios are low, but then they have the flexibility to use buybacks? Is that the sort of direction you should think the sector should be heading towards, given what we've seen in the pandemic? Just some thoughts would be useful.