Fresh from selling off its general insurance assets in Australia, Dutch-based ING has announced a 32% rise in first-quarter profit of $US1.4 billion.

But it has refused to predict its full-year profit, saying global markets and interest rates are still uncertain and growth in Europe is slowing. CEO Michel Tilmant said in a statement that risk costs and credit losses are falling, but the performance of the major stock markets is not certain. “The low interest rate environment continues to affect some of our businesses. A sharp increase would also create its own challenges.”