| Company | ING Barings |
| Date Announced | 4/8/1997 (deal closed 12/15/98) |
| Project Site | 49 & 55 E 52nd St 230 Park Ave, 135 E 57th St, Manhattan |
| Competing Sites | Stamford, Conn. |
| Maximum City Subsidy | $7,401,500 |
|
$2,400,000 in sales tax breaks |
|
$3,400,000 in sales tax breaks*
($1,500/employee for the first $1
million and then $2,000/ employee to a cap of
$3,400,000) *Approximately $1.794 million of these said by ESDC documents to come from New York State and the MTA, rather than the City. |
| Type(s) of City benefits |
Sales Tax Benefits -- Up to $5,800,000 Energy benefits (BIR program) -- $1,600,000 |
| Benefits from New York State | $1.59 million from NYS and $204,000 from the Metropolitan Transit Authority in sales tax exemptions for $45 million worth of capital improvements; $100,000 from ESD for “back-office” training for employees at 135 E 57th St |
| Total Benefits Allowed | $7,501,500 |
| Benefits Distributed to Date (according to LL69 Report FY 2002) | $2,769,000 |
| Promised Job Retention | 1,820 |
| Job recruitment | |
| Projected job growth | 1,270 |
| Total Jobs | 3,090 |
| Jobs Reported in LL69 Report FY 2002 | 1,915 |
| Layoffs | Following the sale of its investment banking operations to ABN-AMRO, ING shed 200 jobs. |
| Length of Contract | 15 years |
| Project Purpose | The deal called for ING to move into space formerly occupied by Credit Suisse First Boston, after CSFB received a subsidy package to support its move to 11 Madison Avenue. The deal also calls for capital improvements and job training. |
| Clawbacks |
The
Giuliani administration hailed this as the first deal that links all
subsidies to job growth. ING, a British-Dutch financial services firm,
receives no benefits for simply retaining jobs, unlike all preceding deals.
However, $2.4
million in sales tax breaks are set aside for the retention of 1,820 jobs
according to the LL69 report.
The energy savings available through the BIR program also do not appear to be
tied to job growth. At the time the deal closed, there seemed to be some confusion over the number of employees at ING. A NYC Economic Development Corp. spokesperson told The New York Times that ING's employment in the city was 841, while the company itself told the paper its New York City workforce was 957 (New York Times, 4/7/97). |
| Background/Since then . . . |
Questions remain about the status of the
agreement and the level of employment at the company.
ING
Capital bought Barings P.L.C. in 1995 when the company was on the verge of
ruin. Ray Horton, president of the business-backed Citizens Budget Commission, said "With the financial services boom, it's not clear why the city should be subsidizing any financial services firms. But a giveaway conditioned on job growth is certainly better than one conditioned on job maintenance." Charles V. Bagli, New York Times, 4/7/97. This is the 26th deal of the Giuliani Administration. |
| Corporate Notes | According to the ING website: "ING Group is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in 60 countries." |
| A note on sources -- Information in this deal comes from GJNY's examination of project agreements obtained through Freedom of Information Law requests, as well as news reports, minutes and notes taken at board meetings, and communication with our allies. The entries are a work in progress. For more information about the documentation behind GJNY's database, or to let us know about any developments that are not yet reflected here, please contact us at gjny@ctj.org or (212) 414-9394. | |
| Date last updated: 07/28/03 | |