ING Direct a dividend machine
Dividends paid by Australian bank ING Direct to its Dutch owner are on the hefty side, the 2015 sustainability report for the parent bank shows.After no dividend payment in 2013, the bank coughed up A$275 million in 2015 and then $300 million in 2015.This is more than twice what the bank spent on salaries and 44 per cent of the "economic value distributed" in ING Direct's account.The sustainability report is a window into ING's affairs. One detail is the payment of $45 million in fee rebates to customers for frequent account use. This is 40 per cent of reported expenses.