ING, a systemically important bank in the European Union that was rescued with 10 billion euros in 2008, has managed to distance itself from the reputation problem that worries the banking employer association in Spain. The Dutch bank entered the sector as an "outsider" in 1999, and its first operations were conducted by phone at a time when internet penetration was not even close to what we have today.

With its continuous and gradual growth in the market, ING has managed to reach 3.9 million clients in 2019. Although this figure is still not enough to sit at the same table as the big banks in the Spanish market, which accumulate 14 million accounts (Caixabank), 10 million (BBVA), eight (Santander), and seven (Bankia), it is fantastic when compared to the resources and employees that the Dutch brand has in Spain.

In terms of the number of clients per employee, ING outperforms the big Spanish banks with the highest number of employees, such as Bankia and Caixabank. ING gives service to 2.2 out of its 3.9 million clients through its payroll accounts. The Dutch bank has 2,748 clients per employee and 1,550 payroll accounts per employee. This figure brings ING closer to online banks and leaves a wide gap with the big Spanish banks.

In the case of Caixabank, which will have slightly less than 30,000 employees once its employment redundancy plan is completed, it provides service to approximately 14 million accounts. Therefore, it has 466 clients per employee. Almost all of Caixabank's business is carried out in Spain, except for a small part of BPI in Portugal. The management of the bank presented its employees with reports stating that its staff was the least productive among the large Spanish banks.

Bankia has 17,000 employees who serve seven million accounts in Spain, resulting in a ratio of 411 clients per employee. Compared to Bankia's employees, ING's employees serve almost seven (6.6) times more clients each.

It is essential to approach this comparison with caution because ING does not have a Spanish banking license and benefits from the central, technological, and regulatory services performed from its headquarters in Amsterdam. That is to say, there is a part of the employee cost that is not included in this comparison since the "headquarters effect" should also be considered. Nonetheless, this fact does not prevent us from observing how the orange bank has managed to position itself in Spain with the productivity that characterizes new online banks like N26 or Revolut.

In the case of the two major Spanish international banks, we will also make comparisons, although the "headquarters effect" must be taken into account further. BBVA has slightly over 30,000 employees and 10 million accounts in Spain, resulting in a ratio of about 333 clients per employee, lower than BBVA's. Banco Santander, slightly less than 30,000 employees, would provide service to 266 clients per employee in Spain. In both cases, these figures cannot be taken literally, as Santander and BBVA are multinational banks that receive the majority of their income from America (Brazil for Santander, Mexico for BBVA).