ING, the Dutch banking and insurance group, returned to profit in the second quarter following three successive periods of losses but the result fell short of analyst expectations as loan loss provisions remained high.

The group benefited from cost-cutting measures and a more profitable interest rate environment in banking but still reported a loss on its banking operations as a whole. ING gave no new details on its plans to repay the Dutch state the €10bn it received as a capital injection last year beyond saying it was “reviewing strategic options”.