Marc U. is among a number of clients that have recently been informed by Dutch bank ING that their accounts are being shut down.
An ING client for more than 40 years, Marc U. was recently informed by ING that his account will be closing down and that he needs to find another bank: "I tried to call them but no one responded. Then I tried to go to my local branch and the branch was closed down."
After numerous attempts, Marc managed to get a hold of someone working at ING, who informed him that "management was implementing a new policy and that my account was no longer profitable enough for them."
Fury among clients
Marc U. was not the only one who received the same bad news. On social media, a number of former clients expressed outrage and complained about how ING handled the notification process regarding the closure of their accounts. "I have been a client for 12 years, my salary is deposited in that account, I have a savings account with ING, and yet my account is being shut down."
ING has requested several clients to transfer their funds to other banks. With the current rate of account closures, more accounts are expected to be closed in the coming weeks, although the exact number remains uncertain.
ING has not issued a statement regarding these account closures for the moment but an announcement with more details is due to be made in a week. Banks are commercial entities that are free to do whatever they please with their accounts, even if that means closing down any client relations.
Searching for a new bank
Every month, Marc U. used to receive his pension to his ING account, but now he has to find another bank that can take him on, "I opened a new account immediately on Friday afternoon, but they informed me that opening a new account could take up to three weeks as a lot of people are in the same boat as me."
We have spoken with several individuals familiar with the banking sector, all of whom wished to remain anonymous. According to them, the bank's approach appears to indicate a desire to distance itself from less profitable clients. This suggests that the bank aims to increasingly focus on private and direct banking services.
For several years now, most ING branches have been open by appointment only. In 2023, ING employed around 1,000 people in the Grand Duchy. Currently, we have no details on whether these developments will impact the number of employees.
According to industry professionals however, if the bank is changing their policy and shifting their attention towards larger clients, fewer branches will be needed in Luxembourg which means that less staff will be required too.
