AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -- Dutch bancassurer ING Groep posted a fourth-quarter loss more than double forecasts, casting a shadow over plans to spin off its insurance business and refocus as a leading European retail bank.

ING also said on Wednesday it plans to spend the rest of this year working on how to split off its insurance business, making a trade sale or its preferred option of an initial public offering (IPO) unlikely until at least 2011. Some in the market had expected an IPO late this year.
“Investors will be disappointed there are no concrete statements about the split-up,” said Jan Willem Rempt of Dutch asset manager Het Haags Effektenkantoor.
ING must sell or spin off its insurance business, the world's sixth-largest, by the end of 2013 as part of its deal with the European Commission that allowed it to get a state bailout during the financial crisis.
ING shares initially underperformed the broader banking sector, but then jumped ahead of peers as some analysts said the stock was relatively inexpensive.