ING Real Estate booked a pre-tax loss of EUR 192 mln in 2008 due to substantial writedowns of its direct real estate investments and holdings in listed and unlisted funds. In 2007, ING RE booked a pre-tax profit of EUR 723 mln.
ING Real Estate booked a pre-tax loss of EUR 192 mln in 2008 due to substantial writedowns of its direct real estate investments and holdings in listed and unlisted funds. In 2007, ING RE booked a pre-tax profit of EUR 723 mln.
ING RE is the largest integrated real estate group in the world. In its annual report for 2008, the company said its real estate investment activities generated a fair value loss of EUR 675 mln, mainly due to devaluations in Australia, Canada and the US. ING RE recorded fair value gains of EUR 204 mln in its investment management business. Fee income slipped to EUR 419 mln from EUR 467 million in 2007.
Strong growth of the loan portfolio in the first nine months of 2008 resulted in its total business portfolio declining only marginally to EUR 106.4 bn.
In response to the global financial crisis, ING Group - the parent company of ING Real Estate - announced a major re-organisation in April, under which ING Real Estate is being split up. The development and finance activities are being added to a new ING Commercial Bank division, while the ING Real Estate investment management unit is to become part of an ING-wide global investment management business.
