ING, for the second time in three months, had to turn to the Dutch ministry of finance for support this week. The government will guarantee 21.6 billion euros in investments related to the US housing market. The plans, which were announced on Monday, come as ING presented a net loss of 3.9 billion euros for 2008. As a result of its problems the bank's CEO stepped down and 7,000 staff will be axed.
ING is in the final season of a three-year sponsorship deal with Renault and will review that deal this year, a company spokesman said on Tuesday: "We plan to evaluate and make a decision on the future this year, taking into account current market circumstances." The cost-cutting will mainly be from F1-related advertising, the spokesperson said. It will not affect the bank's sponsorship of the Renault team or four of this season's remaining races. The company's total F1 budget is believed to be between 50-100 million euros.
