Uneven targets at ING

ING Direct is setting ambitious growth targets for its home loan business. The chief executive of the bank's Australian operation, Don Koch, told the Financial Review that it was aiming for growth of 70 per cent in new lending levels in 2010.

This seems unlikely to translate into as much asset growth. The annual report for ING Bank (Australia), published in recent days, says the aim is for "increased though still conservative net growth in residential mortgages".

ING recorded growth in home loans of four per cent in 2009 and only half the rate of system growth based on APRA data. Balance sheet data for ING Bank (Australia) shows a similar rate of growth for retail loans.

ING Bank has, however, had plenty of mortgage managers seeking funding over the last year or two since securitisation markets first froze over and warehouse lines from local and foreign banks became scarcer.

The ING annual report says it is aiming for "above market growth in savings". ING recorded growth of around six per cent in deposits over 2009, about three quarters of the market's growth rate.