In April 2003 ING DIRECT was growing at €4 Billion in assets and 300,000 customers per month. Started as a telephone bank in Canada in 1997, it is operating in 7 countries, 4 of which are profitable. The concept behind ING DIRECT is to offer simple products, low fees, and high rates on savings accounts. To do this, ING DIRECT operates no branches, choosing instead to deliver services through the web, call centers, and ING DIRECT cafés. In these cafés, trained bankers serve coffee while advising customers on savings accounts and mortgages. A key issue in the case is whether the bank will continue to grow and survive in its highly competitive markets. It is facing several options for growth: enter new countries, expand its product line, or improve its ability to cross-sell existing products. This case can be used with the companion cases: ING DIRECT: The IT Challenge (A) and (B) (IMD cases 3-1344 and 3-1345), which cover the challenges of supporting a fast-growing organization with IT services.
