Banking group ING is to change its focus, concentrating more on loans to small and medium-sized business and private customers and less on mortgages.

The shift in emphasis is intended to make the bank stronger as it comes out of the financial crisis which saw it bailed out by the Dutch government to the tune of €10bn, most of which has been repaid.

‘ING needs to make sharper choices,’ spokesman Raymond Vermeulen said in an interview with BNR radio. ‘The Dutch mortgage market is no longer so interesting so our focus will shift to loans for entrepreneurs, particularly  abroad.’

Vermeulen said he sees growth in the Dutch market but also in countries where ING has a large number of savers, such as Germany, Spain and Italy.

‘Our local branches in countries like these will invest in loans to small and medium-sized businesses. That is where we see the main possibilities for growth,’ he said.