ING Direct Bank is a division of ING Group that offers direct banking services for consumers and businesses through online banking, phone banking and by standard mail. ING Direct's orange dot logo and orange lion became so popular they have spawned orange dot logoed cafes, financial books and a line of consumer merchandise. The most popular ING Direct bank accounts for consumers are their savings account, checking account and CD account.
About ING Group
ING Group is one of the world's largest financial institutions. The origins of this corporation go bank to 1845 with the founding of the De Nationale Levensverzekering Bank, De Nederlanden van and several other Dutch banking services headquartered in Amsterdam.
These insurance companies and banks remained largely separate because of legal restrictions in the Netherlands. When the Netherlands lifted the restrictions in 1990, a large merger resulted in the formation of Internationale Nederlanden Groep, or ING Group.
The following two decades in the history of ING Group are one of the greatest banking success stories in the world. Today, ING Group operates banks on every continent except Africa and Antarctica.
As of the end of 2010, ING Group employed over 107,000 associates and had revenue of 54.43 billion euros. ING's net profit for 2010 was 3.22 billion euros, and the company's total assets were 1.247 trillion euros.
About ING Direct United States
ING Group chartered ING Direct United States in 2000. The company's headquarters is in Wilmington, Delaware. ING Direct got a large jumpstart in the U.S. direct banking market by acquiring 104,000 customers from NetBank in 2007. Later that same year, ING Direct bought out the prominent online brokerage company Sharebuilder.
In June 2011, ING Group agreed to sell ING Direct to Capital One Financial Corporation for $9 billion. The stock options in the deal, set to take place in the fourth quarter 2011, will make ING Group the largest shareholder in Capital One and guarantee ING with a seat on Capital One's Board of Directors.
ING Direct Bank Accounts
While personal banking services are very popular at ING Direct, they also offer business services, investing services and retirement accounts. ING Direct Bank accounts come in three primary varieties: checking, savings and CDs.
The ING Direct Electric Orange Checking Account bears interest at three different tiers and includes free ATM access and Online Bill Pay.
The Orange Savings Account has no minimum balance, and account holders can link the savings account to an external checking account.
ING Direct backing comes from one of the largest banks in the world. The bank's stability, competitive interest rates and diverse banking services are an attractive draw for many customers.