Update on management changes
MWN-AI** Summary
ING Group has announced significant changes in its management structure, notably the appointment of Ljiljana ?ortan as the new head of ING Wholesale Banking, effective February 24, 2026. She will be succeeding Andrew Bester, who has decided to transition to a non-executive role in the UK after a successful five-year tenure at ING. Bester's leadership was instrumental in fortifying the wholesale banking sector, setting a solid foundation for growth, as noted by CEO Steven van Rijswijk.
Ljiljana, currently serving as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) since 2021, will maintain her role on the Executive Board until a new CRO is appointed. In the interim, and to ensure continuity in risk management, Andrea Cesaroni, the head of Integrated Risk, will step in as the acting head of risk reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Cesaroni boasts over 25 years of experience in financial services, which includes previous roles at UniCredit and consulting firms such as Deloitte and Arthur Andersen.
This transition comes with the necessary approval from the European Central Bank, indicating a smooth oversight process within the regulatory framework. The recruitment process for a permanent CRO is currently underway, with further updates anticipated as ING refines its leadership strategy.
These management changes reflect ING's commitment to internal growth and continuity, aiming to enhance its competitive edge in the banking sector while furthering its sustainability goals. The bank is actively involved in financing sustainable initiatives, positioning itself as a leader in the transition to a low-carbon economy, and is continuously assessing its performance in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.
MWN-AI** Analysis
The recent announcement by ING regarding management changes represents a significant shift, particularly the appointment of Ljiljana ?ortan as the head of ING Wholesale Banking, effective February 24, 2026. While Andrew Bester has successfully laid the groundwork for growth in the past five years, investor sentiment will likely focus on ?ortan's ability to capitalize on this momentum. Generally, leadership transitions can lead to instability, but if managed well, they can also rejuvenate an organization.
Investors should closely monitor how ?ortan, currently the Chief Risk Officer (CRO), addresses the immediate challenges in risk management during the interim period until a new CRO is appointed. Andrea Cesaroni's experience in risk management—particularly in ESG and capital adequacy—should provide a degree of reassurance to stakeholders. Risk management, especially in a volatile geopolitical climate, remains paramount for financial institutions, and we expect that any missteps could be viewed negatively by the market.
Moreover, ING’s recent upgrade in ESG ratings signifies a strong commitment to sustainability, which is increasingly attractive to investors focused on environmental and social governance. This enhanced profile may provide ING with a competitive edge in attracting environmentally-conscious investors.
Additionally, the approval of ?ortan's appointment by the European Central Bank reflects a level of confidence in her capability to lead the wholesale banking division effectively. Stakeholders should keep an eye on updates regarding the new CRO appointment, as this will be instrumental in maintaining the risk governance framework.
In conclusion, while management changes often introduce uncertainties, there are several positive indicators for ING, particularly its commitment to sustainability and the existing leadership’s emphasis on risk management. Investors are advised to remain vigilant but optimistic, as effective leadership can play a crucial role in driving the bank's growth trajectory.
**MWN-AI Summary and Analysis is based on asking OpenAI to summarize and analyze this news release.
Update on management changes
ING announced today that Ljiljana ?ortan will be appointed head of ING Wholesale Banking, effective 24 February 2026. She is succeeding Andrew Bester, who, as announced last October, is returning to the UK to start the non-executive phase of his career.
Having completed the handover of the Wholesale Banking activities, Andrew Bester will step down from the Management Board Banking on 24 February 2026. “I would like to thank Andrew for his contributions and leadership during the last five years, significantly strengthening the foundations and positioning our wholesale bank well for further growth over the coming years,” said ING’s chief executive officer Steven van Rijswijk. “I have full confidence that Ljiljana will continue to build on this momentum and wish her well in her new role.”
As of 24 February 2026, Ljiljana ?ortan will leave her position as chief risk officer (CRO), which she assumed in 2021. The selection process for a new CRO is underway. Until the appointment of a successor, Ljiljana will remain a member of the Executive Board, with ING’s chief financial officer temporarily assuming responsibility for risk on the Executive Board. The day-to-day risk management activities until a CRO is appointed will be performed by Andrea Cesaroni, currently head of Integrated Risk, who will, in the ad interim role of head of risk, report to the CFO.
Andrea has over 25 years of experience in financial services and risk management. He joined ING in July 2022 and was appointed to his current role, responsible for risk management policies, frameworks and governance, including ESG risk, risk modelling and capital adequacy assessment. He joined ING from UniCredit, where among other roles he was head of Group Financial Risk and later he was head of Group Risk Models & Credit Risk Governance. Before joining UniCredit he was a consultant at Deloitte and Arthur Andersen.
The appointment of Ljiljana ?ortan as head of Wholesale Banking has been approved by the European Central Bank. Further announcements on the CRO succession process will be made in due course.
Note for editors
For further information on ING, please visit www.ing.com. Frequent news updates can be found in the Newsroom. Photos of ING operations, buildings and its executives are available for download at Flickr.
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ING PROFILE
ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank. The purpose of ING Bank is: empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank’s more than 60,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 100 countries.
ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).
ING aims to put sustainability at the heart of what we do. Our policies and actions are assessed by independent research and ratings providers, which give updates on them annually. ING's ESG rating by MSCI has been upgraded from 'AA' to 'AAA' in October 2025. As of June 2025, in Sustainalytics’ view, ING’s management of ESG material risk is ‘Strong’ with an ESG risk rating of 18.0 (low risk). ING Group shares are also included in major sustainability and ESG index products of leading providers. Here are some examples: Euronext, STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell. Society is transitioning to a low-carbon economy. So are our clients, and so is ING. We finance a lot of sustainable activities, but we still finance more that’s not. Follow our progress on ing.com/climate.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION
Elements of this press release contain or may contain information about ING Groep N.V. and/ or ING Bank N.V. within the meaning of Article 7(1) to (4) of EU Regulation No 596/2014 (‘Market Abuse Regulation’).
ING Group’s annual accounts are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (‘IFRS- EU’). In preparing the financial information in this document, except as described otherwise, the same accounting principles are applied as in the 2024 ING Group consolidated annual accounts. All figures in this document are unaudited. Small differences are possible in the tables due to rounding.
Certain of the statements contained herein are not historical facts, including, without limitation, certain statements made of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to di?er materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may di?er materially from those in such statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation: (1) changes in general economic conditions and customer behaviour, in particular economic conditions in ING’s core markets, including changes affecting currency exchange rates and the regional and global economic impact of the invasion of Russia into Ukraine and related international response measures (2) changes affecting interest rate levels (3) any default of a major market participant and related market disruption (4) changes in performance of financial markets, including in Europe and developing markets (5) fiscal uncertainty in Europe and the United States (6) discontinuation of or changes in ‘benchmark’ indices (7) inflation and deflation in our principal markets (8) changes in conditions in the credit and capital markets generally, including changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness (9) failures of banks falling under the scope of state compensation schemes (10) non- compliance with or changes in laws and regulations, including those concerning financial services, financial economic crimes and tax laws, and the interpretation and application thereof (11) geopolitical risks, political instabilities and policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities, including in connection with the invasion of Russia into Ukraine and the related international response measures (12) legal and regulatory risks in certain countries with less developed legal and regulatory frameworks (13) prudential supervision and regulations, including in relation to stress tests and regulatory restrictions on dividends and distributions (also among members of the group) (14) ING’s ability to meet minimum capital and other prudential regulatory requirements (15) changes in regulation of US commodities and derivatives businesses of ING and its customers (16) application of bank recovery and resolution regimes, including write down and conversion powers in relation to our securities (17) outcome of current and future litigation, enforcement proceedings, investigations or other regulatory actions, including claims by customers or stakeholders who feel misled or treated unfairly, and other conduct issues (18) changes in tax laws and regulations and risks of non-compliance or investigation in connection with tax laws, including FATCA (19) operational and IT risks, such as system disruptions or failures, breaches of security, cyber-attacks, human error, changes in operational practices or inadequate controls including in respect of third parties with which we do business and including any risks as a result of incomplete, inaccurate, or otherwise flawed outputs from the algorithms and data sets utilized in artificial intelligence (20) risks and challenges related to cybercrime including the e?ects of cyberattacks and changes in legislation and regulation related to cybersecurity and data privacy, including such risks and challenges as a consequence of the use of emerging technologies, such as advanced forms of artificial intelligence and quantum computing (21) changes in general competitive factors, including ability to increase or maintain market share (22) inability to protect our intellectual property and infringement claims by third parties (23) inability of counterparties to meet financial obligations or ability to enforce rights against such counterparties (24) changes in credit ratings (25) business, operational, regulatory, reputation, transition and other risks and challenges in connection with climate change, diversity, equity and inclusion and other ESG-related matters, including data gathering and reporting and also including managing the conflicting laws and requirements of governments, regulators and authorities with respect to these topics (26) inability to attract and retain key personnel (27) future liabilities under defined benefit retirement plans (28) failure to manage business risks, including in connection with use of models, use of derivatives, or maintaining appropriate policies and guidelines (29) changes in capital and credit markets, including interbank funding, as well as customer deposits, which provide the liquidity and capital required to fund our operations, and (30) the other risks and uncertainties detailed in the most recent annual report of ING Groep N.V. (including the Risk Factors contained therein) and ING’s more recent disclosures, including press releases, which are available on www.ing.com.
This document may contain ESG-related material that has been prepared by ING on the basis of publicly available information, internally developed data and other third-party sources believed to be reliable. ING has not sought to independently verify information obtained from public and third-party sources and makes no representations or warranties as to accuracy, completeness, reasonableness or reliability of such information. This document may also discuss one or more specific transactions and/or contain general statements about ING’s ESG approach. The approach and criteria referred to in this document are intended to be applied in accordance with applicable law. Due to the fact that there may be different or even conflicting laws, the approach, criteria or the application thereof, could be different.
Materiality, as used in the context of ESG, is distinct from, and should not be confused with, such term as defined in the Market Abuse Regulation or as defined for Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’) reporting purposes. Any issues identified as material for purposes of ESG in this document are therefore not necessarily material as defined in the Market Abuse Regulation or for SEC reporting purposes. In addition, there is currently no single, globally recognized set of accepted definitions in assessing whether activities are “green” or “sustainable.” Without limiting any of the statements contained herein, we make no representation or warranty as to whether any of our securities constitutes a green or sustainable security or conforms to present or future investor expectations or objectives for green or sustainable investing. For information on characteristics of a security, use of proceeds, a description of applicable project(s) and/or any other relevant information, please reference the offering documents for such security.
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Attachment
FAQ**
What specific plans does Ljiljana Šortan have for transitioning her role to head of ING Wholesale Banking, and how will it influence the strategic direction of ING Groep N.V. INGVF in the coming years?
Can you elaborate on the criteria being considered in the selection process for the new Chief Risk Officer (CRO) following Ljiljana Šortan's departure from the role at ING Groep N.V. INGVF?
What are the immediate priorities for Andrea Cesaroni as he temporarily assumes the head of risk role, and how will this impact risk management processes at ING Groep N.V. INGVF?
How does the European Central Bank's approval of Ljiljana Šortan's appointment reflect on ING's governance practices and the importance of leadership continuity within ING Groep N.V. INGVF?
**MWN-AI FAQ is based on asking OpenAI questions about ING Groep N.V. (OTC: INGVF).
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