ING Introduces the ING Gazelle Index Which Measures the Economic Confidence Of Today's African-American Business Owners Quarterly

With the number of African- American-owned businesses rapidly rising, ING's U.S. financial services operation recognizes and respects the impact and the unique perspective these businesses are having in the United States. As a result, ING today introduced the ING Gazelle Index, a national survey of CEOs of the nation's fastest growing African-American-owned businesses with 10-100 employees. The ING Gazelle Index compiles the positive, negative and neutral views of African- American business owners regarding their businesses and the impact the U.S. economy is having on them. Current findings indicate that Gazelle business leaders are more negative than positive about their current and future business outlook.

"The ING Gazelle Index is part of ING's ongoing effort to assist entrepreneurs, business owners, policy makers and other key stakeholders in better understanding the dynamics and success drivers of one of the nation's fastest growing business sectors," said Tom McInerney, CEO, ING U.S. "ING is excited about offering this new tool that provides business owners with insights from their peers that will help them make forecasts and smart decisions about the future of their companies."

According to the Economic Census, there are more than 880,000 African- American business owners in the United States, up 46 percent over a 5-year period. Majority-owned firms have grown only 24 percent during the same timeframe. New African-American businesses are having an undeniable impact on the U.S. economy.

"The ING Gazelle Index is a phenomenal concept to gauge the pulse of African-American entrepreneurs," said Harry C. Alford, president and CEO, National Black Chamber of Commerce. "As an organization that serves thousands of business owners, I can say with confidence that this is a valuable resource for all of them. It has the capacity to serve as an additional guide to companies in making informed decisions about the timing of capital investments, strategic planning and overall business development."

FOURTH QUARTER 2002 ING GAZELLE INDEX RESULTS

During the fourth quarter of 2002, uncertainty with the country's economy, and the possibility of war with Iraq increased. Findings show that both developments have dampened CEOs' current and future outlook. Not only has their outlook been dampened in the fourth quarter, but there has also been a steady decline over the second and third quarters in 2002.

After registering a sharp decline from 67.7 (out of 100) in the second quarter, to 49.5 in the third, the ING Gazelle Index declined further to 44.0 in fourth quarter of 2002. Sixty-four percent of the respondents indicated that the possibility of a war with Iraq has made them more pessimistic.

Only one of the four components of the ING Gazelle Index for the fourth quarter of 2002 is in the positive range. The highest component relates to optimism about the economy six months ahead, which is at an Index of 55.3.

The ING Gazelle Index is derived from averaging four responses, positive and negative, to questions about the business activity and confidence of African American business owners. The ING Gazelle Index derives those four measures by asking the following questions:

  1. In your opinion are economic conditions better today than six months
      ago?
    * 20.3 percent indicated conditions are better, while 51.4 percent
       indicate conditions are not as good.
  2. In looking six months into the future, are you more optimistic or more
      pessimistic about the economy?
    * 48.3 percent are more optimistic, while 39.1 percent are more
       pessimistic.
  3. Is business activity in your company better today than six months ago?
    * Out of 100, the Index measures 46.9, down from 52.9 in the third
       quarter.
  4. As compared to six months ago, has employment in your company
      increased, decreased or remained the same?
    * Out of 100, the Index measures 45.5, showing employment has decreased
       from 49.0 from the third quarter.

"After thoroughly examining the economic landscape, we saw that nothing like the ING Gazelle Index existed," said Keith Green, senior vice president, Domestic Emerging Markets, ING U.S. "We feel the Index is meeting a societal need, and filling a gap in information sharing. We are proud to bring a new tool to the table for business owners to use to make informed decisions about their businesses."

Visit www.INGGazelleIndex.com, to review the full report and click into the minds of CEOs of the nation's fastest growing African-American-owned businesses.

ABOUT ING

ING U.S. Financial Services (www.ing-usa.com) offers a comprehensive array of products and services, including life insurance; fixed and variable annuities, retirement plans; employee benefits; and mutual funds through a variety of distribution channels, including the largest network of independent financial advisors in the industry. ING U.S. Financial Services is part of Amsterdam-based ING Groep N.V., one of the largest integrated financial services organizations in the world.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The National Black Chamber of Commerce (www.NationalBCC.org) is dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African-American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the United States and via interaction with the Black Diaspora. The NBCC has 88,000 members in 200 local chapters throughout the country.

METHODOLOGY

Atlanta-based Boston Research Group (BRG), headed by Dr. Thomas Boston, conducted the survey on behalf of ING. BRG identified 1,497 African-American- owned businesses whose employment increased by a minimum of 5 percent over the last five years and whose current employment is between 10 and 100 workers. Each quarter 350 of these businesses are surveyed randomly. The survey was constructed to have a margin of error of (+) or (-) 5 percent. The survey for the fourth quarter ING Gazelle Index was conducted during the second week of January 2003.

The ING Gazelle Index value is derived by averaging the negative and positive responses to four questions regarding economic outlook and business activity. The relative Index value for each question is derived by dividing the positive response by the sum of the positive and negative responses.

The 350 Gazelles surveyed for the fourth quarter are primarily located in the South (53.1 percent); others are located in the Midwest (21.1 percent), the West (13.1 percent) and the Northeast (12.6 percent). Most African- American owned businesses are located in the South (52.8percent), and others are located in the Northeast (18.9percent), the Midwest (16 percent), and the West (12.3 percent).

Men make up 76.9 percent of the respondents, while women make up 23.1 percent. On average, the Gazelles from this report have twenty-three employees. Gazelles in the fourth quarter are most heavily concentrated in five industries: (1) service to buildings, (2) management and consulting services, (3) computer and data processing, (4) engineering and architectural services, and (5) security services.

CONTACT: Dana E. Ripley of ING, +1-770-980-3317 or cellular, +1-404-668-8244, or dana.ripley@ing-fsi-na.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: Graphics to support this story are available. Also, if
you want to be on a special mailing list to receive this report and release
first on a quarterly basis, please e-mail: dana.ripley@ing-fsi-na.com.

SOURCE: ING U.S. Financial Services

CONTACT: Dana E. Ripley of ING, +1-770-980-3317 or cellular,
+1-404-668-8244, or dana.ripley@ing-fsi-na.com

Web site: http://www.ing-usa.com/