Congratulations, You're Getting A Tax Rebate. ING DIRECT Asks: Now What?

Business Editors

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2001

Thanks to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the retroactive five percent bottom rate tax credit means the government will be mailing $300 - $600 checks to tax filers.

So what should consumers do with the extra cash?

In the opinion of ING DIRECT President and CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann, "it would be a mistake to take that money and immediately invest it in the stock market, as many brokers will undoubtedly encourage people to do. There's an old adage that says `if you can't afford to lose it, don't risk it.' The stock market's not FDIC-insured, like a bank."

"Six hundred dollars - the amount that will be rebated to joint filers - at a seven percent annual return in the market would yield about $4,300 after five years. But if the market drops dramatically, as we've seen with the recent volatility, it could yield zero in a day."

"A high-interest paying savings account lets compounding interest do the work. For example, the NASDAQ has lost about 13 percent since the beginning of the year. A $600 investment made January 1 would translate into a $78 loss as of June 1, versus a $14 gain on that same $600 earning interest in our simple Orange Savings Account(TM)."

Depending on the type of account, compound interest is credited daily, monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually on both the principal and previous interest credited.

Kuhlmann notes that "a customer could literally get on our website once a day and watch the amount in their account grow. And then we credit it at the end of each month. And the money is safe, secure and readily available - and customers don't have a transaction fee skimmed off the total. In fact, we don't charge fees, have minimums or service charges."

"If there are bills to pay, such as high-interest credit card bills, then by all means, consumers should pay down their debt first. If there's any amount left over after that, invest it in savings and watch the amount grow for a while. Once there's a nice little nest egg, then put some in the market, if you want."

"Americans have a very poor consumer savings rate, compared to many other countries. It's time to change that."

Headquartered in Wilmington, DE, ING DIRECT is the operating name of ING Bank, fsb (Member FDIC), a federally chartered savings bank, and part of ING Group (NYSE: ING), one of the largest financial services institutions in the world. ING DIRECT has more than 150,000 customers and more than $1.5 billion in assets as of April 30, 2001.

For product information or to open an account, visit ingdirect.com or call 1-800-ING-DIRECT.