The barbarians at Capital One have reportedly laid siege to the ING castle and are prepared to take control of online bank ING Direct, a move that would allow Cap One to leapfrog over the head of several competitors.

The Wall Street Journal reports that CapOne will soon announce its intent to purchase ING Direct USA from its Dutch parent company for $9 billion. When combined, Capital One will jump from the ninth-largest U.S. bank (in terms of deposits) to the sixth-largest.

ING Direct is one of the largest online banks in the country with seven million customers. Its parent company had been ordered by the European Commission to sell ING Direct by 2013 as a condition for government aid it had received during the financial crisis.

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Capital One Wins ING Direct USA [WJS.com]

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