ING to sell stake in US Capital One for $3 bn

Dutch banking giant ING announced Wednesday it was to sell its stake in Capital One for $3 billion after selling its US online banking unit to the US bank earlier this year. "ING announced today that it has agreed to sell all of its 54 million shares in Capital One Financial Corporation... in an underwritten public offering for a total value of approximately $3 billion (2.4 billion euros) at current exchange rates," ING said in a statement. ING in June last year announced it would sell ING Direct USA to Capital One for $9 billion (7.1 billion euros), making the Virginia-based lender the fifth-largest bank in the United States in terms of deposits. As a result, ING became the largest shareholder in Capital One with a 9.7 percent stake. "ING obtained the shares in February 2012 as part of the consideration for the sale of ING Direct USA to Capital One," the Amsterdam-based bank said. That month the deal was given the green light by the US Federal Reserve. ING was expected to reap an after-tax gain of around 300 million euros, to be booked in the third quarter and a capital release of one billion euros. "The transaction is expected to further strengthen ING Bank's capital position," ING added, saying it would be finalised by Monday. Based in McLean, Virginia, Capital One is one of the largest US credit card issuers and has more than 1,000 retail banking branches in the eastern and southern United States. The ING Direct USA sale was part of restructuring imposed on ING by the European Commission after receiving 10 billion euros ($12.5 billion) from the Dutch government in October 2008 to weather the global financial crisis.