The owners of ING Car Lease – Dutch financial services group ING – has returned to profit after recording loses totalling 793 million Euros in the first three months of 2009.

The firm made 71 million Euros in the second quarter of 2009, from April to June, down from 1.92 billion Euros a year earlier.

Profits were driven by its insurance businesses, but these were countered by loses from its banking arm totalling 204 million Euros.

“While we begin to see signs of recovery in financial markets, economic conditions are expected to remain challenging for some time,” said Jan Hommen, chief executive officer of ING.

The company is in the process of a worldwide cost-cutting programme, which has already resulted in savings of 525 million Euros in the first half of 2009. It now expects to beat its target of 1 billion Euros and achieve a reduction in operating costs of 1.3 billion Euros this year.

ING received 10 billion Euros from the Dutch government in October 2008 to shore up its balance sheet and in January it received state guarantees for 80% of its loan portfolio worth 27.7 billion Euros.