The service is now fully operational and means that ING London's equities trade-processing and settlement of cash equities, currently trading on 56 different markets, is now handled completely by SG GSSI. ING transferred 17 staff to SG GSSI as part of the arrangement.

Philippe Robeyns, head of investment banking services (IBS), at SG GSSI said, "The transfer has been a great success. We are now up and running having completed a complex and sophisticated transfer in only a matter of months."

By appointing SG GSSI, ING Wholesale Banking has selected a partner able to meet its evolving needs in terms of securities processing. "Other banks have been watching this implementation very closely and we expect much more interest in our service," said Philippe Robeyns.

Erik Dralans, Head of Ops/IT Banking for ING says, "This arrangement is the ideal solution for ING. There is currently no other provider that is capable of offering this service at the level required by a company like ING. We have transferred ING staff to SG GSSI giving it access to our highly experienced settlement professionals and further expanding its team. Through SG GSSI's development of settlements technology infrastructure, this agreement will offer us the ability to carry out a high volume of transactions efficiently, whilst also allowing us to offer competitive variable costs to our international cash equity business."

Clients, like ING Wholesale Banking, benefit from the highly automated processing environment offered by SG GSSI, leader in this industry. IBS' outsourcing service uses a flexible operating model allowing rapid deployment of solutions geared to meet the specific needs of each client across the full market spectrum. "Initially the mandate covers cash equities but our flexible model means the service can be expanded to other markets," added Philippe Robeyns.