Financial services group ING booked net profit down 85% in the third quarter of this year at €101m, due mainly to a sharp rise in one-off costs.

In particular, a write-off on the sale of the Korean insurance arm drove down profits, the bank said in a statement.

ING is currently in the process of splitting off its insurance activities, as ordered by the European Commission to offset the impact of state support received in 2008.

ING said it expects to have completed that process in 2016, two years ahead of schedule. The European insurance activities are set to be floated on the stock exchange next year.

ING also hopes to have finished repaying the Dutch state in early 2015. The debt currently stands at €1.5bn.