ING CEO favours smaller M&A deals, Commerzbank not sufficiently digital

By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Matteo Allievi

(Reuters) - Dutch bank ING Groep is looking for more local mergers and acquisitions focused on targets with a developed digital offering, its CEO said on Thursday, adding that Germany's Commerzbank did not fit the bill.

Group CEO Steven van Rijswijk said ING would only look at deals if they can help it move quicker or add skills.

"First, no very big restructuring. [Companies] must also be competing with a digital mindset, because if the culture of another bank is bricks and mortar and no digital, that doesn't work," he told Reuters in an interview.

"And if you put that on a company like Commerzbank...I think you know the answer," he said when asked about the German lender, pointing to its international presence and large branch network.

While there are no immediate plans to sell Germany's residual 15% stake in Commerzbank, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in January that he is not opposed to such a disposal.

Propped up by higher interest rates and robust profits, European banks are flush with cash and their shares are at multi-year highs, leading to speculation there could be more domestic M&A activity, although clinching deals is far from easy.

The Netherlands' largest bank by assets lifted its 2024 outlook for total income to more than 22 billion euros ($23.75 billion) after posting second-quarter net interest income above estimates.

Van Rijswijk said ING's net interest income has held up well throughout the year on the back of higher deposit inflows and lending, while 2025 margins are expected to be stable as interest rates are expected to gradually come down.

($1 = 0.9263 euros)

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Matteo Allievi; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan)