Remember when I reported a rumor that Ally Financial (parent company of Ally Bank) was interested in buying ING Direct? Well, that rumor turned out to be wrong. Instead, it was recently revealed that Capital One will be acquiring ING Direct for a reported $9B – with $6.2B in cash, and $2.8B in stock.
This move will make Capital One the 5th biggest bank in terms of US deposits, up from 8th place, and it will also give them a strong presence in the online banking world. It remains to be seen what effect this acquisition will have on existing ING Direct customers.
Will Capital One leave well enough alone? Or will they start tinkering around with ING’s business model? Only time will tell.
Crap! I bet they’re gonna get in there and screw up everything I love about ING. I guess I should probably come up w/ a Plan B in case I’m right—which I totally hope I’m not. 🙁
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Boo!
Re: #4 from Patrick
I use ING for my emergency and savings accounts. After this announcement, and more recently in general, I too have felt the urge to pull my money from the big banks and go to my small locally run bank or credit union. The problem is their interest rates on savings accounts are terrible. What to do…?
I am waiting to see what happens with ING. The minute they jack with my interest rate I think I am heading to Everbank or American Express or maybe Ally.
Suggestions?
I have been with ING for 5 years but I will be closing my account this summer. I have been rubbed wrong by Capital One in the past and I want nothing to do with them.
I am really considering only banking at local banks and pulling all my assets from the “big” banks.
Ugh. 🙁 Hopefully they leave my accounts alone… I love the ING direct web presence. Are they only buying ING direct and not the other portions of ING? I have a sharebuilder portfolio that is run by ING, and ING is also the record keeper of my company’s 401k.
I’ve been with ING for 7 or 8 years but this news has left me thinking that it might be time to jump ship.
Why does this make alarm bells go off for me? I don’t use ING but I think if I did I’d be looking at new options. I’m going to be surprised if they do leave well enough alone. Thanks for the heads up! I hadn’t heard. It’ll be interesting to see what they do.