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ING DIRECT Launches in Quebec
Montreal - May 8, 2002
ING DIRECT, famous for paying customers more than five times the interest on the savings that they earn from the big banks and the caisses populaires, announced today that it is bringing its unique brand of high value banking to Quebec.
ING DIRECT offers all of this with no fees, no minimum balance requirements, no changing financial institutions, no locking in and 24-7 access.
"We're here to empower Quebecers," said Paul Bedbrook, President and CEO of ING DIRECT. "We empower our customers to earn a level of interest on their savings that they couldn't otherwise earn. All with no fees and without having to change banks. It's that simple, it's that easy."
ING DIRECT is a virtual bank. It has no branches. This is one of the reasons why interest rates on savings are higher than those of the competition. When a client opens an account, an electronic link is created between their current chequing account and their new ING DIRECT account. "This type of link is the same as what most people establish with their employer when their paycheque is deposited directly and automatically into their chequing account," explained Bedbrook. "Clients are free to transfer funds at any time to their usual bank. The process is simple and secure."
ING DIRECT's commitment to innovative products and better value financial services has made it the ninth largest bank in Canada in only five years, based on individual deposits through 2001. Automatic savings programs, great rates and an easy way to do business have resulted in total client savings in Canada of over $5 billion and a customer base of 500,000. At the same time, ING DIRECT has paid out $366,658,082.08 million in interest to its clients since inception in 1997.
"We know that 64% of Quebecers feel the rates they get on their savings aren't fair" continued Bedbrook, quoting a recent study by Descarie & complices. "And since 25% of Quebecers already bank online or over the telephone, and 45% don't see the need for branches, we felt the time was right for us to focus on Quebec," said Bedbrook.
In addition to the Investment Savings Account, ING DIRECT offers GICs, mortgages and a Credit Account - unsecured line of Credit, all with highly competitive rates.
The ING DIRECT brand stands for high value, simple to use products that help Canadians save their money by offering high interest on deposits, low rates on loans and with no fees or service charges. ING DIRECT is a Canadian bank, with over 500,000 clients. ING DIRECT is the operating name for ING Bank of Canada - member CDIC. ING DIRECT is a member of ING Group, the 15th largest financial services company in the world. Customers can bank with ING DIRECT 24 hours a day, seven days a week via www.ingdirect.ca or by calling 1-800-ING-DIRECT.
Style Note to Editors: The name ING DIRECT, is always capitalized and is never referred to as ING. ING DIRECT is the operating name of ING Bank of Canada. ING DIRECT is a separate entity from ING Canada, yet ING DIRECT and ING Canada are both subsidiaries of ING Group, based in the Netherlands.
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