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ARTICLE · 12 NOVEMBER 2009

Too big to fail: antitrust authorities could intervene, but will they?

Mayer Brown
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The Dutch financial conglomerate ING Group, under pressure from the European Commission, recently announced plans to accelerate the sale of its insurance operations and its internet banking business in the United States.

European UnionAntitrust/Competition Law
Kiran Desai
Kiran Desai
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Originally published November 2009

Keywords: antitrust authorities, ING Group, European Commission, domestic regulation

The Dutch financial conglomerate ING Group, under pressure from the European Commission, recently announced plans to accelerate the sale of its insurance operations and its internet banking business in the United States. It also agreed to stop making further acquisitions. Many see this as the first of several likely examples of banks being cut in size because they are considered to be 'too big'. ING Group's chief executive put a different spin on the development by stating that "the costs of complexity [in the combination of a diversified portfolio of businesses under one roof] now outweigh the advantages we once saw".

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