ING banks increase in clients, profit

THE HAGUE

ING said Wednesday it recorded a profit boost after adding nearly three-quarters of a million new clients in the first half of this year.

Net earnings at the Dutch bank rose by 5.9 per cent in the second quarter to 1.37 billion euros ($1.62 billion), but the bank’s measure of operating profit showed a dip of 1.0 per cent to 1.4 billion. “Our second-quarter performance confirms that the core elements of our strategy are as relevant as ever in the fast-changing worlds of banking and technology,” the bank’s chief executive Ralph Hamer said in a statement.