ING Group today announced plans to sell up to €8 billion (£7.2 billion) of non-core assets and cut its geographical spread in a bid to bolster its capital structure and focus on a smaller number of core markets.

At an investor day in Rotterdam, Jan Hommen, the Dutch financial group's chief executive-designate, said that ING planned to concentrate on "fewer, coherent and strong businesses".

He said it was successfully pressing ahead with its previously announced €1 billion cost-cutting programme, which had so far realised more than half of the projected 7,000 job cuts.

The company has raised its asset disposal target from €2-3 billion to €6-8 billion. It said it exepcted to sell upto 15 businesses "over the coming years", freeing up €4 billion-worth of capital.

ING, which has been forced to seek assistance from the Dutch Government, said it had achieved €55 billion of its targeted balance sheet reduction of €110 billion.

Mr Hommen said the new strategy would see the company become predominantly a European bank, with a narrowing of the scope of its insurance business to life and retirement services, particularly in the US.

“We are taking ING back to basics on all levels,” Mr Hommen said, who identified a reduction in complexity as a key aim.

“As a result of this process, ING will become a more focused group, with substantial earnings power and significant growth potential."

In February, ING reported a €3.7 billion fourth-quarter net loss and said it will focus in 2009 on reducing its activities and markets, simplifying its portfolio and cutting costs further. The full-year net loss for 2008 was €729 million.

In October last year, it received a €10 billion cash injection from the Dutch Government, followed in January by a €27.7 billion State guarantee on its toxic assets.

Mr Hommen, who is moving from chairman of the supervisory board, will replace Michel Tilmant, who in January announced he would be stepping down as chief executive because of the stress of leading the group through the most turbulent period in living memory.

When the group announced its target of cutting 7,000 jobs in January it declined to comment on the impact in the UK, where it employs about 1,000 in London, in wholesale banking and real estate, and another 600 at its ING Direct business in Reading.

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