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Dutch financial services giant ING has announced plans to split itself apart. The company, which has its US investment arm headquartered in Windsor, says it will try to sell off its insurance and investment management arms. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.

ING was one of the world’s finance giants that needed government aid during the recent credit crisis. The Dutch government first gave the company a cash injection of ten billion euros, then later took an 80 percent stake in ING’s mortgage backed securities portfolio.

ING now says it wants to repay most of that debt, selling off some businesses and issuing new shares in order to raise the cash. There’s no clear statement yet as to how this will affect ING’s Connecticut employees.

The company has already implemented a sweeping cost cutting program this year, shedding more than ten thousand jobs. The company had previously announced changes to its US holdings, selling off part of its reinsurance operations at ReliaStar to the Reinsurance Group of America.

Investor reaction to the news of the split has so far not been positive, with ING’s shares dipping on European exchanges.