This is particularly good news for the bank, having seen its share price halve to below A$19 in the year to mid-2002 after it was widely seen to have overpaid on an important deal and overloaded the market with too many capital raisings.
However, the bank is on track to report record profits – up at least 40% up on 2003-2004 – when it unveils annual results in May, and has completed its first year of ownership of ING’s pan-Asian equities business, a deal that has transformed its prospects in the region.
