ING Groep NV

A coalition of major banks warned on Tuesday that AI-powered shopping agents are creating new risks for consumers around scams, fraud, and data privacy, and that the technology is moving faster than existing industry standards and consumer protections can keep pace. The group includes NatWest, Bank of America, ING, Capital One, New Zealand's ASB Bank, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and it published a report laying out principles for how agentic commerce, in which AI tools select and purchase goods on a shopper's behalf, should be developed. The report flagged vulnerabilities including AI agents that collect card details from customers and submit them on third-party sites, the risk that agents might favor payment options with fewer consumer safeguards, and the possibility that bad actors could impersonate AI agents and merchants or deploy new social engineering methods. The banks said they plan to bring several proposals to policymakers, including mandating that consumers be told when an AI agent is part of a transaction, clearer insight into how those agents reach decisions, and measures to keep customer data secure. The warning comes as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta promote AI chatbots as shopping tools, and British retailer John Lewis said searches from AI agents had risen to 2.5% of its total from 0.3% a year earlier.

Australia's prudential regulator has imposed additional capital and liquidity requirements on ING Bank after the bank overstated its liquidity position for several years and at times breached minimum liquidity requirements. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority ordered ING Australia to maintain an additional A$50 million operational-risk capital buffer and increased its minimum liquidity requirements. ING Australia had reported a liquidity coverage ratio of around 160 percent but later found it was substantially lower and at times fell below the 100 percent regulatory minimum. APRA also required ING to conduct independent reviews of its liquidity-reporting failures and risk-management practices and implement a remediation plan. ING has since raised its liquidity above regulatory minimums, with the additional requirements remaining until APRA is satisfied with the bank's remediation.

Today (31 Aug. 2026), shares of TMBThanachart Bank, or TTB, rose 2.74% to 3 baht, after CEO Piti Tantakasem revealed that ING Groep N.V. reduced its stake to 11.6%, which does not affect business operations. The 100% Thai management team continues to drive the bank according to the original plan, and ING still has representatives on the board for the remaining term, but without management roles. Piti said that ING's sale of shares to foreign financial institutions is a positive signal, reflecting confidence in the Thai capital market and TTB's fundamentals. As for the remaining share buyback plan totaling 14 billion baht, it will be considered based on market conditions; if the timing is not favorable, the funds may be used to increase dividend payments instead.

TISCO Securities has raised its fair value for TMBThanachart Bank, or TTB, to 3.30 baht and maintained a buy rating, after lifting its 2026 to 2028 profit forecasts by 7 to 11 percent on strong second-quarter 2026 results. It also expects the dividend payout ratio to rise to 85 percent this year after the share buyback program ends. TISCO projects TTB will pay a dividend per share of 0.20 baht for three consecutive years, implying a dividend yield of about 7 percent, the highest among banks under TISCO coverage. TTB shares rebounded 2.86 percent to 2.88 baht after ING sold a big-lot stake at 2.64 baht, a 9 percent discount.

ING Bank sold 6.99 billion TTB shares worth 18.4 billion baht through 77 block trades at an average price of 2.64 baht to institutional investors, reducing ING's stake from 19.5% to 11.6% of shares excluding treasury stock. TTB confirmed that the reduction in ING's shareholding does not affect the bank's management structure, operations, or core strategy, since ING is only a board member, and the sale increases free float, which is positive for TTB share trading liquidity in the long term. Chief Executive Officer Piti Tantakasem said TTB remains committed to maintaining an appropriate and sustainable dividend payout ratio while proceeding with a share buyback program under a total budget of 35 billion baht over four years. To date, the bank has bought back 21 billion baht worth of shares, leaving 14 billion baht remaining. President Thakorn Piyapan disclosed that fee income in the first seven months grew 12 to 13 percent, with mutual fund income up nearly 20 percent and card spending up 10 percent, compared with market growth of only 1 percent. This gives confidence that return on equity in 2026 will meet the plan of no less than 9 percent, a level already achieved in the first half. The bank aims to increase the share of revenue from wealth customers from the current 14 percent to 30 percent by 2028, launching the ttb superior service for mass affluent customers with combined financial products of at least 1 million baht. It targets growing this customer base to 160,000 to 180,000 accounts and assets under management in this segment to 360 billion baht by 2028, lifting retail customer assets under management to 1.3 trillion baht from the current 1.1 trillion baht.

Shares of TMBThanachart Bank, or TTB, closed down 10 satang, or 3.45%, at 2.80 baht after ING Bank, its second-largest shareholder, sold a block of shares worth 18.47 billion baht at an average price of 2.64 baht per share. Analysts at Krungsri Securities view the deal as slightly negative for short-term sentiment, but stress that TTB's business plan has not changed with its shareholder base. They maintain a buy rating with a 2027 target price of 3.50 baht, expecting profit growth of 3% in 2026 and 1% in 2027, and a higher dividend payout ratio of 75% of net profit, implying a dividend yield of around 6% per year. Phillip Securities agrees that the deal does not affect management or earnings, because ING has been signalling a reduction in regional investment for some time. The broker keeps its 2026 profit forecast at 21.5 billion baht, up 4.1%, with a base-case price of 3 baht and a recommendation to gradually accumulate, though short-term investors may want to wait out the initial shock. Tisco Securities notes that the market had partly anticipated this since June 2026, when ING sold back 3.3 billion shares at 2.26 baht. If the new deal is completed, ING's stake could fall to around 12%. Although ING holds two board seats, its role in operations is limited, so what changes is the shareholder structure, not the profit engine. Looking at the price chart, TTB rallied from around 1.80 to 1.90 baht through the 2.34 baht level and then accelerated to a peak around 3.10 to 3.15 baht. The drop to close at 2.80 baht is therefore a sharp consolidation after a strong run. First support is at 2.74 to 2.70 baht, matching yesterday's low. The next support is 2.64 baht, the bottom of the block trade price range. Resistance is at 2.90 baht, followed by 3.00 and 3.15 baht. If the stock holds above 2.70 baht, the broader uptrend remains intact, but a break below 2.64 baht could prompt the market to demand a deeper discount. Another attraction is the potential dividend of about 0.20 baht per share. If the price falls to 2.70 baht, the yield could be around 7.4%. Meanwhile, the bank still has about 14 billion baht remaining in its share buyback programme. Although the bank cannot use that money to buy shares from ING alone, converting it into shareholder returns could become the next piece of good news.

TMBThanachart Bank, or TTB, has confirmed that ING Bank's reduction of its shareholding from 19.5% to 11.6% through a private placement worth approximately 475 million euros will not affect the bank's operations or core strategy. Chief Executive Officer Piti Tantakasem said the transaction is a direct portfolio management move by the shareholder, which TTB could not have known about in advance or been involved in deciding, and that the off-market sale helps reduce selling pressure in the secondary market while increasing free float and liquidity over the long term. TTB is continuing its share buyback programme under a total budget of 35 billion baht over four years, with 21 billion baht already repurchased and 14 billion baht remaining, and will consider the format of the next buyback to suit capital market conditions for the greatest benefit to shareholders.

Shares of TMBThanachart Bank, or TTB, dropped 3.45% to 2.80 baht after ING Group offered a big-lot stake worth about 500 million US dollars, or roughly 6.1 billion shares, equal to 6.3% of total shares, at 2.64 to 2.70 baht per share, a discount of about 7% to 9% from the previous close. After the transaction, ING will hold 11 billion TTB shares, or 11.2% of total shares, subject to a 90-day lock-up. Analysts at Bualuang Securities assess that the big-lot sale below the current price will be a negative factor pressuring the share price, and expect TTB's 2027 net profit to fall 10% because of reduced tax benefits, while maintaining a sell recommendation because TTB is more expensive than the overall commercial banking sector, reflected in a 2027 price-to-book ratio relative to return on equity of 0.145 times, above the sector average of 0.118 times.

ING plans to redeem $1.75 billion of callable senior notes on September 11, 2026, their scheduled call date. The notes include $500 million of floating-rate notes and $1.25 billion of fixed-to-floating-rate notes, both due in 2027. ING will redeem them at 100% of their principal amount, with accrued and unpaid interest paid to holders of record as of September 10, 2026.