ING Groep NV Announces ING Bank's Settlement Agreement with United States Authorities

ING Groep NV announced that ING Bank has entered into a Settlement Agreement with United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Deferred Prosecution Agreements with the Department of Justice, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the District Attorney of the County of New York in relation to the investigation by those agencies into compliance with United States economic sanctions and United States dollar payment practices until 2007. Under the terms of the Deferred Prosecution Agreements, no further action will be taken against ING Bank if it meets the conditions set forth in the agreements. As part of the settlement, ING Bank has agreed to pay a total penalty of USD 619 million. As announced on May 9, 2012, ING Bank took a provision in the first quarter of 2012 to cover this issue. ING Bank previously disclosed in its annual reports and other public filings that it was in discussions with authorities concerning compliance with OFAC requirements in relation to transactions executed by Commercial Banking. Since 2006, prior to receiving inquiries from the United States Authorities, ING initiated two internal investigations. The discussions with authorities on these issues did not involve ING's Insurance and Investment Management operations, nor Retail Banking or ING Direct.