By 
ING Groep NV said Thursday that its third-quarter net profit ticked down on year, hit by a mortgage holiday in Poland, and that it is initiating a 1.5 billion euro ($1.47 billion) share-buyback program.
The Dutch lender
ING,
-3.21%
posted a net profit of EUR979 million, compared with EUR1.37 billion a year earlier.
Total income, its top-line measure, fell 5% to EUR4.41 billion, ING said.
The figures came slightly below expectations of EUR1.08 billion for net profit and EUR4.43 billion for total income, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Net interest income at EUR3.33 billion was down 1.7% on year, owing to the impact of a Polish mortgage moratorium, which was brought in to shield consumers from rising interest rates.
The impact was itself partially offset by higher rates, as ING gained more from loans.
The bank said it is immediately launching its share-buyback program, to end by Dec. 31. Any remaining amount of the program after that date would be paid out in cash to shareholders, it added.
Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@dowjones.com
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