ING loses $1b in Q1

ING Groep NV, the largest Dutch financial-services company, posted a third consecutive quarterly loss because of equity writedowns, higher loan-loss provisions and reorganization costs.

The first-quarter net loss was 793 million euros ($1.08 billion), or 39 cents a share, compared with a 1.54 billion-euro profit, or 74 cents, a year earlier, ING said yesterday.

ING plans to raise as much as 8 billion euros selling assets to boost capital and is cutting 7,000 jobs in a bid to reduce operating costs by 1 billion euros this year.