Buying a home is one of the most important financial decisions people make, and waiting for a mortgage decision can be one of the most uncertain moments along the way. Much of the waiting happens behind the scenes, such as gathering and reviewing documents and moving cases between systems and specialists.
ING, one of the leading mortgage providers in the Netherlands and Europe, processes a large number of applications every day. To help people navigate more efficiently, ING has piloted an agent AI assistant, especially for applications that would normally require manual assessment. Agents analyze mortgage applications to understand your case faster, help explain possible outcomes, and recommend ways to move your case forward. ING employees are always responsible for the valuation and make the final decision on all mortgage applications.
“With Agent Mortgage Assistant, we are taking the next step in supporting mortgage applications, providing faster decision-making and clearer outcomes for customers and brokers. You’ll take on some of the valuation work by analyzing cases, providing insight, and guiding decision-making, allowing your colleagues to focus on complex applications and personal communications with brokers. ” Tom Degen, Head of Mortgage Loans at ING Netherlands, said:
“For customers, it’s not about the technology itself, it’s about getting clear, reliable answers they can trust.” Bahadir Yilmaz, Chief Analytics Officer at ING, said:. “This pilot shows that agent AI can help process mortgage applications more efficiently, while keeping decision-making accountable and robust within ING’s governance and customer-first standards.”
The pilot will be expanded in stages. As we scale, our agent AI assistants will take on more operational tasks, reducing processing time and making the mortgage process more consistent. The aim is to create a faster and more personal experience for customers and brokers.
This reflects how ING practices AI. We test ideas in real-world environments and extend what adds value to our customers.
AI as a strategic enabler
AI plays a key role in ING’s differentiated growth strategy and how we improve our products, processes and customer interactions. We pilot solutions in our focus areas, learn quickly from real-world usage, and only scale solutions that demonstrate measurable results.
FF news take: This is a decisive step towards eliminating the operational friction inherent in mass lending. While many institutions are still locked into simple generative chatbots, ING is effectively operating complex decision support logic, significantly raising the bar for industry competitiveness. We now need to monitor how closely regulatory oversight evolves to keep pace with these autonomous actors. Since these systems are necessarily responsible for more sensitive underwriting operations, rigorous explainability will be maintained during real-world testing.
