ING cops lending losses in Australia
As part of the latest financial stabilisation plan for insurance and banking group ING the Dutch government will buy 80 per cent of the bank's "Alt-A", or low doc loans originated in the United States, and at 90 per cent of the par value of these loans. The bank and government announced the plan overnight.While there's a complex mix of risk sharing, servicing costs and guarantee fees payable between the bank and the Dutch government, the chief feature of this rescue is that ING may now reverse €5 billion in capital written down last year. Together with the €5 billion in cash kicked in as capital by the government two months ago ING has lifted its capital base by more than 40 per cent since the end of 2007.ING management last night was also pitching the merit of taking into account the market-to-market affect of the bank's own debt liabilities, including hybrid securities. ING asserted that on this basis it could claim a further €6 billion in equity.It is also of note that ING cited declined commercial property prices in Australia as one of three regional markets most responsible for reduced valuations on real estate and increased loan loss provisions.ING said it plans to "continue lending to core clients" but did not spend much time in analyst and media briefings addressing the impact of recent events and the gloomy outlook on core franchises such as ING Direct.The bank also said it had replaced CEO Michel Tilmant, with the chair of the bank's board, Jan Hoomen, as the new CEO.