ING last night rejected speculation that it is selling its Australian banking business, ING Direct.ING's chief executive, Jan Hommen, presenting the group's first quarter profit, said: "We have a good franchise... ING Direct Australia is a very well-regarded business. We are very happy with that business, so we intend keep that one," Reuters reported.He also rejected suggestions that commercial banking operations in Asia may be for sale.On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that ING, was "weighing the sale" of the Australian business. Rumours of a sale have been floating around since 2009.ING has a lot of assets on the block. It needs cash to repay €10 billion of aid it received from the Netherlands government during the financial crisis.It is preparing to sell a United States and a European insurance business, through initial public offerings. ING Direct in the US is also for sale, as is WestLandUtrecht Bank in the Netherlands.Since receiving government support in 2008, ING has sold at least €5.4 billion worth of assets, including its Asian private banking assets last year and insurance operations in Canada, Taiwan, Australia and Chile.It is selling most of its real estate investment management operations in Australia to CB Richard Ellis and other parties in a deal worth A$1.1 billion.