ABBL, Retail Banks Working to Coordinate Transfer of ING Client Assets

On Friday 31 May 2024, the Luxembourg Bankers' Association (ABBL) issued a statement in response to the recent decision of ING to halt its retail banking services for private individuals in Luxembourg.

The ABBL said that, faced with concerns raised by this decision, it has consulted with Luxembourg retail banks with a view to taking the necessary measures to support the customers concerned in the transfer of their assets to another bank.

The union noted that the ING Luxembourg announcement had disconcerted many of the bank's customers and raised questions about the future of the sector in Luxembourg. "This decision demonstrates two things," explained Jerry Grbic, CEO of the ABBL. "On the one hand, in Luxembourg, the retail banking market is very competitive. On the other hand, the extent of existing regulatory constraints may lead certain players to question the continuation of certain service offerings." The ABBL added that the deepening and broadening of regulations over the past ten years has resulted in an increased mobilisation of financial and human resources from banks, putting their profitability to the test.

In light of the current situation facing clients, the ABBL said it had consulted with ING Luxembourg, other retail banks and the competent authorities to organise the transfer of their assets to another establishment of their choice and thus guarantee a continuation of services. "In these discussions we were able to see the firm desire of our members active in the private customer segment to continue to maintain and develop this offer in our country. They also declared themselves capable of welcoming a significant number of customers as mentioned in the case of ING Luxembourg," explained Jerry Grbic. Some of these players have already implemented information and processes on their site to onboard interested customers.

The ING Luxembourg bank, for its part, had announced that it was developing additional measures to avoid any interruption of banking services and said it was committed to closely supporting impacted customers. Among the measures taken is the strengthening of the number of employees in its branches, as well as its Contact Center, the publication on its website of a section with key information and extended deadlines for customers to make their own arrangements.

The ABBL also recalled that the Law of 13 June 2017 relating to payment accounts provides access to a basic payment account, for the sake of consumer protection.