ING to invest 250m euros in the Cluj service centre over ten years

Netherlands' ING wants to invest 250 million euros over the next ten years in the development of the regional customer services centre in Cluj-Napoca, which will employ 1,000 by 2013, with the company set to become one of the leading employers in the county.

"We are seeking to consolidate operational processes currently carried out in seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe into one place. This activity transfer will ultimately mean cost cuts and implicitly lower prices on insurance policies," said Tom McInerney, chief operating officer of ING Group's insurance division.

Cluj has been chosen for opening a new regional services centre after an analysis of several locations in Central and Eastern Europe because it is a university centre with over 100,000 students, from among whom the future employees will be sourced.

At full capacity, the employees of the Cluj centre will work for customers of ING's insurance division in countries like Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary.