ING profits dive in second quarter

ING Groep NV recorded a 25% decline in second-quarter profits as it dealt with weak financial markets and write-downs from subprime mortgages. The Amsterdam, Netherlands, insurance and banking company reported net income of 1.92 billion euros ($2.86 billion), down from 2.56 billion euros in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters of New York had forecast a profit of 1.52 billion euros ($2.26 billion). The company wrote down 44 million euros from subprime mortgages, Alt-A and other asset classes that are under pressure. Additionally, the company had to negatively revalue 260 million euros through shareholders' equity. Profit in ING's insurance business fell to 1.15 billion euros ($1.71 billion), marking a 42% decrease from the year-ago period. ING Direct, the bank's online-banking division, was the only division to report growth, posting a 4.7% increase to 179 million euros ($266.6 million) from the second quarter of 2007. Assets under management fell 3.5% to 614.1 billion euros ($914.8 billion), compared with the year-ago period.