In Brief: Moody's Confirms Ratings for ING Unit

LONDON - Concluding a review initiated when ING Group agreed to buy the assets of the failed Barings PLC investment house, Moody's Investors Service Inc. confirmed the long-term ratings of ING's Internationale Nederlanden Bank.

Barings, the failed London-based merchant bank, had suffered huge losses from derivatives trading in its Singapore operation.

In confirming the ratings, Moody's noted that the price at which Barings was acquired represented a relatively small sum in the context of ING's overall resources and capital base.

Barings' loss-making open market positions were closed subsequent to ING's acquisition, at a cost in line with previous projections.

At the same time, ING's financial strength continues to rest on its large share of the concentrated Netherlands banking markets, including its franchises in retail, middle-market, corporate, and local capital markets businesses.