Governor Tim Pawlenty and St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis announced today that ING DIRECT will nearly double the size of its staff in St. Cloud and enlarge its Minnesota facility by 80,000 square feet as part of an expansion in a Job Opportunity Building Zone (JOBZ).

The JOBZ initiative is Governor Pawlenty’s marquee program for stimulating economic development in Greater Minnesota. It offers a variety of local and state tax incentives to eligible companies that startup, expand or relocate in one of 10 designated zones.

Representatives from ING DIRECT joined Governor Pawlenty and Mayor Kleis to announce that the company will add 400 new jobs over the next three years in information technology, sales, deposit processing, loan processing, and administration.

“One of the largest financial service organizations in the world is expanding and increasing its job presence here thanks to our efforts to encourage economic development in Greater Minnesota,” Governor Pawlenty said. “ING DIRECT is growing its savings and lending business and Minnesota is growing jobs. Minnesota’s economy is hot. We have added jobs in each of the last 12 months and added more jobs in the last quarter than any quarter in 22 years.”

ING DIRECT will occupy the second, third and fourth floors of the new Centre Square III office building. The facility will also include a Café on the main floor. Construction will begin in October 2006 and will take approximately twelve months to complete. There are 390 employees currently working at ING DIRECT’s St. Cloud facility that includes an information technology center, call center, deposit processing, loan processing, and administrative office.

“We’re thrilled that ING DIRECT’s tremendous growth has led to this exciting development opportunity in St. Cloud,” said Arkadi Kuhlmann, President and CEO, ING DIRECT. “This expansion plan highlights our commitment to Minnesota and secures our position as a leader in the St. Cloud business community.”

ING DIRECT is the nation’s fourth-largest savings bank and largest online bank. The company is headquartered in Wilmington, Del. with offices in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and St. Cloud. ING DIRECT is part of ING (NYSE:ING - News), one of the largest financial services organizations in the world. ING has been operating in the U.S. for over 100 years, with more than 10,000 employees working for ING companies. ING DIRECT USA has over 4 million customers and more than $62 billion in assets.

“This is a significant number of jobs in Downtown St. Cloud,” said St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis. “ING DIRECT has rightly identified St. Cloud as a leader in economic development with a motivated, knowledgeable, and dedicated workforce.”

JOBZ has generated 252 completed projects, resulting in 3,844 new jobs. Businesses have also promised to retain 8,011 existing jobs and to make $299 million in new capital investments.