The ING Group will cut 2,400 jobs, of which 1,400 in the Netherlands and 1,000 in Belgium, the Dutch bank and insurer announced on Wednesday while releasing its annual figures.

The ING reported a net profit of 1.4 billion euros (1.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the fourth quarter, compared to 1.2 billion euros in the same period last year, the Amsterdam-based multinational banking and financial services corporation reported.

Underlying pre-tax profit in the fourth quarter fell 72 percent to 184 million euros at the banking operations, while the insurance division bounced back from a loss of 1.5 billion euros in 2011 to 272 million euros in 2012.

"Results for the year held up well, despite the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and weak economic climate which persisted throughout 2012," Jan Hommen, ING Chief Executive Officer, said in a press release.

"As our business model evolves, so must our organization," Hommen said when mentioning the job cuts.

"Retail Banking Netherlands is expanding the transformation program started in 2011, leading to approximately 1,400 additional redundancies by the end of 2015 and reducing expenses by an additional 120 million euros per annum from 2016 onwards," said Hommen.

"At ING Bank in Belgium, employee headcount is expected to decline by 1,000 FTEs by 2015, through natural attrition, leading to 150 million euros in annual cost savings by 2015," he added.

The ING employs 91,000 people worldwide. (1 euro = 1.35 U.S. dollars)