FACEIT, the world’s leading platform for competitive online gaming, has today announced a multi-million dollar partnership with Cake DeFi, one of the world’s fastest growing crypto fintech platforms, which allows users to earn cash flow from their crypto. Facilitated by Pivot Agency, the collaboration will provide Cake DeFi with authentic brand exposure to all FACEIT users globally through a series of bespoke and multifaceted gaming experiences which will offer the community a chance to win crypto. This year Cake DeFi will be offering players more than half a million dollars in prizes, paid in crypto.

Research suggests that 55% of the Millennials gamers own crypto as compared to just 5% of all Millennials, illustrating the natural connection between the gaming and crypto industry. 

The partnership with FACEIT marks Cake DeFi’s first move into the gaming and esports space. The agreement will offer the company access to FACEIT’s 25 million userbase, the largest network of competitive gamers, and will offer players a unique opportunity to earn actual crypto prizes while playing. Furthermore, through CakeDefi’s platform and access to decentralised finance applications, they can compound their winnings and earn returns on their crypto.

Michele Attisani, Co-Founder & CBO of FACEIT said: “The FACEIT platform is home to the largest community of competitive gamers, which means we have a unique understanding of this audience. Our users are incredibly forward thinking and educated when it comes to crypto, so the partnership we chose had to bring tangible and substantial value to be of interest. The collaboration with Cake DeFi is much more than brand integration, and offers our community clear experiential and financial benefits which go beyond what any partnerships of this type has delivered before.”

FACEIT users are core gamers who spend an average of 2.5hrs a day on the platform. A recent survey of FACEIT users found that many were already interested in, and investing in crypto, showing a natural synergy between both brands and industries:

• They are innovative thinkers with 66% agreeing that cryptocurrencies are the future of online transactions 
• 80% have heard of Crypto
• 36% invest in Crypto 
• 46% very Likely or Likely to use Crypto in next 12 months - 4x more likely than the general population to use Cryptocurrency for online purchases                                                                              

The partnership will incorporate Cake DeFi Missions, involving in-game tasks and monthly challenges for players to complete in order to win crypto prizes. It will also include Cake DeFi Weekly Tournaments which will run throughout the year which will be open to FACEIT players around the world. Players will be able to earn even greater rewards on the crypto they win when they sign up to CakeDefi. All crypto prizes are redeemable through their Cake DeFi account, allowing FACEIT to expand its current play-to-earn offering.

Speaking about the partnership, Dr. Julian Hosp, CEO and Co-Founder of Cake DeFi said, “Gamers have a natural affinity with crypto and they can now join us on the DeFi movement. Cake DeFi’s partnership with FACEIT will allow players to earn crypto while they game, and further earn returns on their crypto through our platform. In 2021, we paid out US$230 million in rewards to our customers. So it’s a win-win-win for FACEIT gamers.”

Cake DeFi is the leading crypto fintech platform that provides users access to DeFi (decentralised finance) services and applications such as liquidity mining, staking and lending, which generates regular returns for users. They currently manage over $1 billion in customer assets and offer users one of the highest returns on crypto in the market, as a one stop platform that is easy-to-use, secure and transparent. Last year they paid out $230 million in rewards to customers and this year they are looking to increase this to 74% more, or $400 million, in rewards.                                                

To find out more about Cake DeFi please visit: www.cakedefi.com   

Partnerships 

Ophelos Partners with Credit Card Startup, Yonder, for Ethical Debt Resolution

Ophelos, the technology firm building fairer debt resolution for businesses and their customers, announces its partnership with Yonder, a lifestyle credit card for millennial audiences. The partnership will see Ophelos transform how Yonder manages the support of customers who may find themselves in arrears. The startup, which is dedicated to building a modern credit solution, selected Ophelos as it reflected Yonder’s business values centred around fairness, transparency and customer respect.

Western Union Expands Collaboration with UK Post Office

Western Union announced that it is expanding its collaboration with the UK Post Office to provide retail cross-border money transfers. This alliance is part of the Company’s continued enhancement of its omni-channel offering, serving its customers across the full range of physical and digital touchpoints and channels. UK Post Office customers will now be able to benefit from Western Union’s omni-channel experience, choosing to send money to their families and loved ones overseas via Western Union’s UK Post Office digital services or in-person at 4,000 UK Post Office locations across the United Kingdom.

Allied Solutions Partners with Scienaptic AI to Deliver Enhanced Credit Decisioning Platfor

Allied Solutions, one of the largest providers of insurance, lending, risk management, and data enabled products to credit unions, has just launched a strategic collaboration with Scienaptic AI, leading AI-powered credit underwriting platform provider. The partnership will provide an enhanced, personalized loan decisioning platform that will enable credit unions to lend more, automate the lending processes and reduce lending risks.

METACO Partners with Brink’s to Strengthen Institutional Digital Asset Custody Capabilities

METACO, the leading provider of security-critical software and infrastructure to the digital asset ecosystem, has announced a partnership with Brink’s, the global leader in total cash management, route-based secure logistics and payment solutions. Brink’s extends METACO’s institutional digital asset custody services into the physical world through its internationally recognized secure logistics expertise and global network of vault locations. These capabilities provide financial institutions with an unparalleled, segregated, and fully distributed, disaster recovery solution for critical private key recovery backups.

Launches 

Zilch, the UK-based BNPL Unicorn, is Getting Ready for a US Launch

Prior to launching in the United States, Zilch, a London-based fintech, joined the Financial Technology Association (FTA) to encourage ethical innovation. When a transaction is complete, Zilch makes consumer credit judgments using open banking, corporate social responsibility, and behavioral data technology. Additionally, the fintech business was one of the first regulated buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) providers in the United Kingdom, with an emphasis on financial wellness and education.

Plum Launches Commission-free Stock Investing in the UK

Investment and saving app Plum has launched a new stock investing feature that allows customers to invest in fractional company shares, commission-free, making it one of the UK's most competitively priced investment platforms. For the first time ever, Plum’s customers will have access to some of the world’s best-known companies, with +500 top US businesses like Apple, Tesla, Nike and Microsoft included on release, and another 500 firms to be added imminently.

Spectrum Markets Unveils First On-venue European 24-5 Turbo Trading on Cryptocurrencies

Spectrum Markets, the pan-European trading venue for securitised derivatives, announced its product offering has widened to include cryptocurrencies as an underlying, with turbo warrants on Bitcoin and Ethereum now available. The new products expand Spectrum’s existing suite of Turbo24s and allow brokers to offer their clients long or short leveraged exposure to the price of the two most popular cryptocurrencies. This marks the first time financial institutions can offer European retail investor clients the opportunity to trade turbo warrants on cryptocurrencies, on-venue, 24 hours a day, five days a week.

Generation Life Launches Investment-linked Lifetime Annuity

Financial Risk Solutions (FRS), provider of investment administration software to asset owners and life and pensions companies worldwide, announced Generation Life, an Australian leading provider of tax-effective investment bonds, has launched an investment-linked lifetime annuity solution using FRS’s Invest|Pro™ as a key component of Generation Life’s technology supporting the lifetime annuity. FRS specifically adapted its award-winning unit-linked software platform to support the investment-linked annuity’s unit pricing requirements and to comply with Australian tax rules.

Finastra Managed Services Launches on Amazon Web Services

Finastra announces the launch of Finastra Managed Services (FMS) on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enable banks and financial institutions to access FMS in the AWS cloud. FMS being available in the AWS cloud has already demonstrated its benefits, helping a large multi-national U.S. bank on the West Coast roll out its lending solution. Users of FMS in the AWS cloud benefit from increased efficiency and scalability, which improves spending and reduces carbon footprint. AWS empowers organizations to modernize their infrastructure, meet rapidly changing customer behaviors and expectations, and drive business growth.

Atom Bank Launches Quick Quote Tool for Instant, Indicative Business Loan Quotes

Atom bank is expanding Portal - their next generation broker gateway-  to include their innovative Quick Quote tool. This addition will allow brokers offering secured business loans to self-assess and create an indicative quote within the portal before submitting an application, whereas the traditional method requires brokers to contact the business development team for a quote. The Quick Quote tool can be used for trading businesses and investment cases and comes after Atom relaunched their standard secured business loan range in January, offering variable and fixed-rate loans between £2m and £5m, alongside their pre-existing RLS range.

Equifax Canada Launches Final Stage of Cloud Transformation with Borrowell

Equifax Canada officially launched the final stage of its cloud transformation with the migration of key partner Borrowell Inc.’s products and services to the new Equifax Cloud™. The result of Equifax, Inc.’s $1.5 billion technology and security transformation, the Equifax Cloud is a world-class enterprise-wide infrastructure tailored to highly regulated data workloads. Borrowell, the country’s leading financial marketplace and credit education company, is one of Equifax Canada’s largest data contributors and partners.

BingX Launches Innovative Blue Chip NFT Investing Through Crowdfunding

BingX, the world's leading social trading platform, is excited to launch its inaugural NFT crowdfunding project. This project enables our users to participate and own a fragment of blue-chip NFT through the power of the community. The NFT crowdfunding project which supports USDT/ETH pairings will be launched on the 29th of April, 2022, lasting for 14 days. During which, the NFT will be divided into multiple shards and users can choose to subscribe for a certain number of shards.

Australia’s Hay Group Launches Shaype

Australia’s Hay Group is launching Shaype to redefine what is possible in financial  innovation, fintech and embedded financial experiences. Since launching the Hay as a Service (HaaS) offering in 2020, the team and the  platform’s capabilities have grown and evolved reflecting the strong demand from  clients for better financial innovation solutions. The key attributes delivered to clients include project acceleration and derisking  technology execution for start-ups as well as established suppliers who can use  the powerful and flexible platform to bring new products to market.  

Merger & Acquisition

Sabanci Acquires OT Security Vendor Radiflow

Radiflow, an Israeli OT cybersecurity startup, announced that it is being acquired in a two-phase process by Sabanci Group, market leaders in the financial services, energy, and industrial sectors. The initial phase entails a $45  million primary and secondary investment in several installments to reach a majority stake in Radiflow. In the second phase, Sabanci intends to acquire a 100% stake in Radiflow by 2025. A recent increase in demand for comprehensive OT cybersecurity solutions has allowed for Radiflow to rapidly expand across the US and Europe, doubling its sales in 2021.

MyComplianceOffice Announces Close of Schwab Compliance Technologies Acquisition

MCO (MyComplianceOffice), a global provider of conduct risk and compliance technology, announced that the company has finalized its acquisition of Schwab Compliance Technologies (SCT), a solution that automates monitoring employee trading activity and administering a firm's Code of Ethics. The closing of the deal marks a meaningful step toward the company’s expansion and position as a leading authority on conduct risk and compliance technology.

Job Moves

Paul Stoddard Joins GoCardless as President

GoCardless has appointed Paul Stoddard, a former Mastercard executive, as president. Stoddart is an accomplished individual. He became president of Mastercard's New Payment Platforms following the acquisition of Vocalink, where he built and grew a business unit focused on expanding the card scheme's position in payments beyond cards to account-to-account payments. He previously co-led Barclaycard's Corporate Finance division. He worked for NatWest for ten years, most recently in their merchant acquisition and e-commerce division, Worldpay.

David Lambert Appointed CEO of Transact365

Transact365, a UK-based global payments platform powering merchants in emerging markets, has appointedDavid Lambert as its new CEO. An original co-founder and former Commercial Director at Transact365, Lambert will oversee the fintech’s expanding merchant customer base and card schemes. He will also work closely with the rest of the senior management team to expand the business into new markets and take advantage of new opportunities in the fast-evolving payments landscape.

Paycast Appoints Katrina Gordon as Head of Customer Success

Paycast, the marketplace payment engine and second venture of UK based fintech group SPG, has announced the appointment of Katrina Gordon as Head of Customer Success. The addition of Katrina to the Paycast team further develops the company’s focus on delivering the best outcomes for customers as part of its overarching customer-first strategy. In her role, Katrina will work with Paycast’s growing customer base to ensure they are receiving the delivery functions and support they need to achieve their business priorities, as well as developing the Paycast offering in line with customer desires.

Industry Veteran Pete Daffern Appointed Non-Executive Company Chair at Xceptor

Xceptor, the financial sector’s leading no-code software platform for data automation, announced the appointment of Pete Daffern as Non-Executive Company Chair. Pete brings over 30 years’ experience within the technology sector, having successfully grown numerous software businesses, including the creation of three companies which achieved market capitalisations of over $10BN. Pete was most recently CEO at Foresee, and prior to that President of Netsuite. Pete has operated at board level within multiple private equity and VC backed businesses.

Payabl. Appoints European Payment Expert as Chief Product Officer

Payabl., the European payments expert that enables businesses to take payments easily, reliably and securely, announces it has appointed Igor Skachkov as its new Chief Product Officer. Having worked within the payments industry for over 12 years, including at Klarna and Visa, Igor is experienced in card acquiring and issuing, Buy Now Pay Later, e-wallets, subscriptions and tokenized payments. With payabl.’s bold ambition to help merchants grow through innovative payments, Igor has been appointed to drive the company’s next phase of product development.

Paylink Solutions Team Expands with Two Senior Appointments

Fintech Paylink Solutions has expanded its senior team by a new head of operations and head of information security. Joe Clarke is now Head of Operations and is responsible for overseeing Paylink’s operations and IT services, managing key projects and delivering the performance management framework and new graduate scheme. Becky McClory has also been welcomed to Paylink as Head of Information Security and is now responsible for implementing, designing, managing and allocating all technology security measures across the business.

Wahed’s Female Leadership Expands as Juliana Abu Bakar Joins as Country Head of Wahed Malaysia

Wahed, a global fintech company that provides an efficient, reliable, and accessible way to invest, announcedthe appointment of Juliana Abu Bakar as Country Head of Wahed Technologies Sdn. Bhd. (Wahed Malaysia). Her responsibilities will include managing local offerings, implementing growth strategies and spearheading marketing and business development functions in Malaysia. Juliana Abu Bakar will be replacing Syakir Hashim - who has captained Wahed Malaysia from its inception. Syakir will be joining Wahed’s group management as its Senior Vice President of Business Operations.

Payer Announces New Chairman of the Board

Payer announced that Dominik Belloin, one of its board members, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Board. Dominik Belloin succeeds Annika Javestad, who served in the role during the development phase. The appointment now awaits the approval of the FSA. Payer is a Swedish B2B payments company serving the European market. It provides end-to-end payment solutions for enterprise companies within verticals such as Industry, Bank & Finance and Digital Commerce.

A new independent survey of 251 senior decision-makers at UK banking and financial services firms has revealed how they are responding to customers’ changing demands. It found:

• Over the past 12 months, 71% of finance companies have worked on developing a new product as a direct result of customer suggestions
  • 77% have started to tailor products to a new demographic
• 83% are confident in their business’ ability to meet evolving customer needs
  • Yet 63% admit their business is risk-averse when it comes launching new offerings
• Three quarters (73%) want to see more investment into innovation

The vast majority of the UK’s banks and financial services firms are launching new products to keep pace with customers’ evolving demands, but risk-aversion and the need for more investment could hold them back, new research fromYobotahas found.

London-based technology company Yobota commissioned an independent survey of 251 senior decision-makers at UK-based banks, finance companies and financial services firms.

It found that 71% have developed a new product over the past 12 months as a direct result of suggestions put forward by their customers, with 80% saying they regularly seek feedback to assess how they can better meet the needs of their user base.

More than three quarters (77%) have started to tailor products and services to a new demographic of customers that they did not serve prior to 2021. Further, 80% of the companies surveyed said they have experienced an increase in demand for personalised financial products or services over the last year.

Changing behaviours and expectations are not perceived as a threat to business’ long-term prospects: the vast majority (83%) of banks and finance firms say they are confident in their ability to meet the evolving needs of their customers.

However,Yobota’s research unearthed support for greater spending on innovation. Almost three quarters (73%) of senior decision-makers think their company should commit more money to exploring how they can expand their offering.

Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents said their business is risk-averse when it comes to introducing new products. Many have sought external support though, with 72% saying they worked with a technology vendor to launch new offerings over the past 12 months.

Ion Fratiloiu, Head of Commercial at Yobota, said:“The banking and finance industries are in a digital arms race, with companies competing aggressively for user retention. Customer trust is the holy grail, yet historically many have dragged their feet when it comes to delivering on big promises to put their customer first. Positively, our research shows that the tide is turning, with many firms taking action.

“There is no greater way to achieve customer satisfaction than by fulfilling their expectations. Many companies are now heeding calls for personalisation, with many also rolling out new digital offerings that will serve unmet needs. Even the best products will not succeed without a strong and engaged customer base, so it’s inspiring to see so many companies taking the time to listen to and understand their customers.

“Risk aversion evidently remains rife in this space, however, and this can stunt the development of value-adding products. Those ill-equipped when it comes to technological expertise would do well to partner with vendors who can do the heavy lifting. More generally, as firms move customers out of branches and onto digital channels, investment in underlying tech infrastructure is essential to ensure when customers call for changes, they can be implemented at speed.”

Michael Aagaard, former Head of Foreign Exchange at Saxo Bank has been appointed as Managing Director of GCEX in Denmark. He will be responsible for all GCEX’s activities out of Denmark and GCEX’s growing team in Copenhagen. He will also work closely with Founder and CEO, Lars Holst on strategic growth plans for the organisation.

Michael Aagaard spent almost 20 years at Saxo Bank. As Head of Foreign Exchange he was responsible for product development and strategy of all FX and crypto products. He joins GCEX from a contractor role at Oanda, where he has spent the last six months as a Digital Assets Consultant advising Oanda on its digital assets offering.

Lars Holst, Founder and CEO of GCEX comments, “This is a significant hire for GCEX. Michael brings extensive experience in FX and digital assets to our firm. Having worked previously with him at Saxo, I have every confidence that he is the ideal candidate to head up our operations in Denmark and play a major role in enabling us to achieve our ambitious growth plans.”

Michael Aagaard, Managing Director, GCEX, Denmark adds, “I am very excited about joining Lars and his fantastic team. I have a huge amount of respect for how much they have achieved in such a short space of time. This is a great opportunity for me as I embark on the next stage of my career. I wanted to remain in the digital assets space but also be part of an organisation with an entrepreneurial spirit. GCEX ticks all the boxes and I am looking forward to contributing to the firm’s ongoing success and working closely with the GCEX team globally.”

GCEX is an FCA regulated digital brokerage that enables brokers, funds and professional traders to access deep liquidity in digital assets and FX. GCEX offers a wide range of products and technology solutions including White Labels.  Its ‘Crypto In A Box’ plug and play solution comprises of a technology-agnostic platform which covers regulation, custody, safety of funds, liquidity and technology (both backend and frontend). GCEX’s unparalleled suite of integrated trading technology includes AI applications, allowing clients to automate onboarding, offer and trade digital assets, FX & CFD Indices, with deep streaming liquidity and solutions for clearing.

GCEX is headquartered in London, with offices in Glasgow, Copenhagen and Kuala Lumpur. For further information, please visit www.gc.exchange or LinkedIn

DivideBuy, the leading UK LendTech, has won the Best POS Solution category at the Cards & Payments Awards 2022, beating ACI Worldwide, Worldpay and UTP, as well as being shortlisted for the Best Consumer Credit Card or Credit Facility category. Following an impressive period of growth for the Stoke-on-Trent company, this important award win paves the way for further growth in 2022 and beyond.

This latest achievement is a testament to how the company is redefining the world of interest-free credit for the modern consumer and further demonstrates DivideBuy’s award-winning POS credit solution in a vastly competitive sector.

The Newcastle-under-Lyme business is committed to offering an ethical and transparent way for consumers to manage their financial responsibilities while also empowering retailers to grow in a challenging and competitive landscape.

Robert Flowers, CEO of DivideBuy, commented, “The Cards & Payments Awards are a prestigious industry standard, and we are delighted to have won the Best POS Solution category and to have been shortlisted for the Best Consumer Credit Card or Credit Facility category. I want to thank the team at DivideBuy for their hard work, dedication, and vision in creating an accessible and ethical payments solution for retailers and consumers across the country.

“This win marks an important moment for DivideBuy as we continue to build on last year’s growth. In today’s complex economic climate, consumers nationwide are looking for a flexible and responsible way to control their finances. As both the technology platform provider and lender, we are able to remain in control of each part of the lending process, making our interest-free lending work in the interest of both the consumer and the retailer. We want to become the perfect credit partner for consumers and retailers, offering the nation’s shoppers truly flexible finance and the ability to make more informed purchasing decisions.”

Last year DivideBuy announced a milestone £300m funding agreement with global investment management firm, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, following a broadening of its consumer base, a major shift in consumer attitudes towards interest-free credit and its acquisition of several major retail partners.

DivideBuy also ranked fourth in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™ Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) 2019, marking the third consecutive year of inclusion on the list. This is recognition of DivideBuy’s impressive median revenue growth of 19,572% over the term, making it the fourth fastest growing technology company in EMEA, and third in the UK.

Interest-free POS finance is the fastest-growing e-commerce payment method in the world today, accounting for 2.9% of global ecommerce transaction value in 2021 and projected to account for a 5.3% share of the market by 2025 according to a report by WorldPay. This form of affordable credit is also proving to be a hit with millennials, with 54% of UK consumers in this age bracket in a survey by Finder using it as an easy and convenient payment option, in comparison to credit cards that charge interest and higher fees.

To find out more about DivideBuy and its benefits for retailers and their customers, go to: www.dividebuy.co.uk.

MIBR, the biggest esports team in Brazil, brings on board Bybit, one of the fastest growing crypto exchanges in the world, as a new partner and sponsor for the following three years. This is the first sponsorship deal for Bybit since it announced its expansion into Brazil. The announcement marks Bybit's designation as the official sponsor of MIBR's professional teams of both male and female players across various competitive esports arenas such as CS:GO, Rainbow Six, Valorant and Free Fire.

Bybit began collaborations with esports teams in 2021, scaling up synergy between the two fastest growing industries — esports and cryptocurrency — that are each on an up-only trajectory. Bybit is also a proud partner of Formula One's Oracle Red Bull Racing, several top esports teams in the world such as NAVI and Astralis, top-tier German Bundesliga football club Borussia Dortmund and Japanese J League football club Avispa Fukuoka. This is the first partnership in Brazil by the newcomer exchange player to the most populous country in Latin America. MIBR and Bybit will work together to deliver the partnership through unique consumer events and promotions around the world, tapping into MIBR's vast audience reach. The sponsorship will continue to put the Bybit name on the map in the esports space, in a symbolic move to bring closer two communities that are shaping up to redefine finance and sports.

The MIBR and the Dubai-based crypto exchange will be curating content on crypto and financial education across the club's channels during the three-year partnership, expanding the intersection between the esports and crypto communities. The sponsorship will feature financial education resources for gamers looking to diversify and invest in digital currencies, as well as offer fan engagement to the next level with assets and experiences that will create a unique way to support and be with the team.

For the CEO of MIBR, Roberta Coelho, Bybit came to boost the New Era of the organization, a new chapter of its history that started in 2022 and established the fan as the main focus. " I am glad to know that Bybit will be our partner for the next 36 months! Together we are going to place MIBR in Web 3.0, understand the interests of our fans in the digital assets universe and deliver the utmost experiences. As per Bybit's slogan, we will lead MIBR to the next level".

With an overwhelmingly young demographic, esports is predicted to be an "up only" industry just as cryptocurrency is finding its way into mainstream portfolios globally. Many in the esports community will likely be keen to embrace a digital-first, borderless and decentralized asset class and will benefit from connecting with one of the best platforms facilitating cryptocurrency trading.

MIBR esports players will be competing with traders worldwide in Bybit's flagship crypto trading event, the World Series of Trading (WSOT) 2022. Each team in Bybit's esports family is presenting their best players in the trading competition, leading cohorts towards victory for a lion's share in the record prize pool of $8 million and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Bybit is also an ally in MIBR's mission of changing the perception of women in the gaming and technology world. "Gender equality is near and dear to Bybit's heart. In addition to the investments toward MIBR's female teams of CS:GO and Valorant, we will continue to create initiatives with the purpose of championing women gamers. Bybit Brazil will work with Bybit global to support women gamers on their paths to identifying and capturing Web 3.0 Opportunities," said a representative of Bybit Brazil.

"We are excited to partner with MIBR as the first sponsorship deal for Bybit Brazil. We share the vision of real sportsmanship, and the drive to be the best in the game. Whether you are in the business of innovative finance or competitive esports, to be a good player you need to put in hard work, hone your craft and build a strategy. As a digital asset platform, Bybit holds itself to a high standard in providing a secure and reliable experience for all of our users," added the Bybit Brazil representative.

ING announced today the start of a share buyback programme under which it plans to repurchase ordinary shares of ING Groep, with a maximum total value of €380 million. The share buyback is part of a € 1.25 billion programme to return capital to our shareholders. Next to the share buyback it consists of a €870 million cash dividend payment.

The share buyback programme will commence on 12 May 2022 and is expected to end no later than 2 November. The purpose of the share buyback programme is to reduce the share capital of ING.

The programme is a next step in converging our CET1 ratio towards our ambition level and follows the €1,744 million share buyback programme, which was completed on 28 February 2022.

ING Group’s CET1 ratio was 14.9% at the end of the first quarter of 2022 which is well above the prevailing CET1 ratio requirement of 10.51%. Together with the additional cash dividend of €0.232 per share, which will be paid on 18 May 2022, the announced share buyback programme will have an expected impact of roughly 37 bps on our CET1 ratio.

The ECB has approved the share buyback programme, which will be executed in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation and within the limitations of the existing authority of a maximum of 10% of the issued shares as granted by the general meeting of shareholders on 25 April 2022. ING has entered into a non-discretionary arrangement with a financial intermediary to conduct the buyback.

ING will provide weekly updates on the progress of the programme via a press release and on the Investor Relations section of the ING website: http://www.ing.com/share-buyback-programme.