The embattled Dutch financial services group ING, which has sold parts of its private banking assets in recent weeks, revealed further plans to restructure its business lines today, with a complete separation of banking and insurance.

ING said all insurance and investment management activities are to be divested over time, with divestments made via initial public offerings, sales or a combination of the two methods. Restructuring will be complete by the end of 2013, the firm said in a statement.

In a separate statement today, ING issued preliminary results, saying that it expected to post a net profit of €750 million ($1.126 billion) for the third quarter of 2009, compared with a net loss of €568 million for the same quarter a year ago.

“The moderate stabilisation in operating conditions that began in the second quarter continued in the third quarter of 2009. This supported the Group's strong commercial results of approximately €2.4 billion, which were primarily attributable to the bank,” it said.

Earlier in October, the Dutch firm said it had agreed to sell its Asian private banking arm to Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, for $1.463 billion. ING has also sold its Swiss private banking operations to Julius Baer, the Swiss bank.

Updated results for the quarter will be issued on 11 November.

Commenting on the restructuring plans, Jan Hommen, ING’s chief executive, said:  “Now, the widespread demand for greater simplicity, reliability and transparency has made a split the optimal course of action.”

To get approval from the European Union on the changes, ING said it needs to divest ING Direct USA by the end of 2013.

“ING regards the [US] operation as a very strong franchise and the US market offers potential for growth. It is anticipated that a divestment will take several years and will not be completed before the end of 2013. In the meantime, ING will ensure that it continues to grow the value of the business and offer a superior customer experience,” the statement said.

It continued: “ING remains committed to the ING Direct franchise, as a strong contributor to ING's growth going forward. The unique customer proposition, simple transparent products and market-leading efficiency are at the heart of ING's banking strategy.”