Netherlands' ING Posts Euro793 Mln Loss In 1Q

The company announced 7,000 job cuts in January, representing 5 percent of its total work force, and said Wednesday that 5,380 have been cut so far.

The company took a euro329 million hit for restructuring costs in the quarter.

Among ING's investment losses were a euro361 million impairment charge on direct real estate investments and an additional euro290 million charge on troubled U.S. mortgage-backed securities.

In January, ING said it had lost euro2 billion on U.S. real estate derivatives in the fourth quarter. The Dutch state then assumed 80 percent of the risk for the remaining euro27.7 billion in such derivatives that ING holds, at roughly 2/3 of their face value. Wednesday's charge implies Dutch taxpayers have taken a hit of at least euro1 billion on that deal.