ING bank has revealed that their Belgian branch now only boasts 206 branches, down from about 400 a year ago.
This significant shrinkage in their branch network is part of a strategy aiming to end up with 150-200 branches, according to L'Echo.
In line with this reduction, the banking giant has been channeling efforts into digital services.
Currently, ING's banking app services 1.5 million customers and registers over 60 million visits a month, recording a six percent annual increase.
Solid results despite network trimming
ING Belgium has recently registered its best financial performance in years, thanks to strong sales and cost-cutting measures.
Retail banking revenues hit €689 million in the second quarter of 2023, marking a 16% increase compared to the year before. Profits reached €277 compared to €113 million in the same period last year.
Overall, the whole group, which operates in over 40 countries across the world, boasts a turnover of €5.75 billion, outperforming previous analyst predictions by five percent.
Retail banking and wholesale banking activities primarily fuelled this surge, contributing to an overall profit of €2.15 billion, a remarkable 83% annual increase.
