ING reported a 14.7 percent rise in net profit for the third quarter from a year earlier on Wednesday as a stronger economy allowed the bank to cut provisions against risky loans.

Net (LSE: 0LN0.L - news) profit came in at 1.06 billion euros ($1.16 billion).

"Risk costs declined on the back of economic recovery," the bank said in a statement, singling out retail banking in its Dutch home market "where evidence of the economic recovery is now clearly visible in our risk costs".

ING also said it had further reduced its holding in NN Group (Dusseldorf: 2NN.DU - news) , its former insurance subsidiary which it is to spin off completely in 2016.

ING is Europe's fourth-largest bank by assets and employs 53,000 staff in 40 countries (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) .