Dutch, digital and doing nicely

摘要

GERMANY'S third-biggest retail bank has no branches. It is also Dutch. And it is highly profitable. ING-DiBa, an online bank owned by ING, the Netherlands' biggest lender, looks after €133bn ($154bn) of deposits for over 8m customers. In a fragmented market-most Germans entrust their savings to small, local banks-that means a share of around 6%. ING-DiBa's lack of branches keeps costs down, allowing it to resist charging for current accounts and offer savers a tad more than rivals, despite a recent cut; and it has won a name for good service in a country not renowned for it. While other banks struggle after years of ultra-low interest rates, ING-DiBa thrives. Its return on equity exceeds 20%.