THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutch banking and insurance group ING on Wednesday announced a 793-million-euro net loss for the first quarter, compared with a net profit of 1.54 billion euros in the same period last year.

Eight analysts questioned by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted an average net loss of 553 million euros (757 million dollars), though their forecasts ranged between losses of 21 million euros and 854 million euros.