‘Spotlight on’ navigating change and making an impact: A Q&A with Rutilio Merien

Q1. Describe your role within the Corporate & Institutional Banking team at ABN AMRO UK.

I'm responsible for managing and building ABN AMRO's relationships with the UK and Irish corporates. I do this together with the other coverage bankers for CIB in the UK. I focus on large corporates active in the Mobility, Logistics and Transportation sector and have a number of clients engaged in the Energy Transition theme. Additionally, since the strategic review in August 2020, I also focus on building up our Corporate Real Estate franchise in the UK, for which we just closed our first transaction.

Q2. How have you navigated the changes since the pandemic began to maintain relationships and ensure a continuation of service offerings to clients?

At the beginning of the pandemic, we focused on having a close and frequent dialogue with our clients. With the new situation and an uncertain outlook, it was essential to have close contact with our clients to ensure we would be prepared for various eventualities and be able to support our clients. I'm proud to say that although last year wasn't easy for our CIB clients in the UK, we have managed very well through the storm without any loan loss provisions to date.

As we moved away from the immediate distress and shifted into a 'new normal' during the year, we all had to get used to replacing physical meetings with virtual ones. Using video calls with existing clients was a relatively easy transition and one that enabled us to continue to provide the right products and services to our clients. However, originating new potential clients proofs to be more difficult and will require some more time getting used to. Without for instance conferences where you would walk around and build your network or the face-to-face meetings where you get to know each other, this has become much more challenging.

Q3. The bank is undergoing an energy, mobility & logistics and digital transition phase – what opportunities and challenges do you foresee? What does this mean for the Corporate & Institutional Banking UK team?

First of all, I think it is good to focus on a select number of sectors or themes as we have defined them. We can't be everything for everyone, everywhere. More focus will prompt a better understanding of the market dynamics, the players, and opportunities. These themes resonate well with our clients as they increasingly work through ESG related challenges and improve their business models. I believe these are the themes for the future and reinforce the strategy of the bank. It will help get out a clear message that we are genuinely 'banking for better, for generations to come'. Nevertheless, with an increasing global focus on climate change as well as broader ESG related matters, many other financial institutions have stepped up their efforts and increased competition. Our challenge will be to continue to find ways for ABN AMRO to remain relevant for our clients.

Dilemmas are part of the transition phase. One of the dilemmas we see in these transition themes is that many of the companies leading the transition are still small and have a risk profile that may not necessarily match our appetite or our products are not suitable. On the other hand, the large companies that form the foundation of our client base may not be the first movers. And if they are, we see that they often don't require separate funding or other services as in those cases it typically involves internally funded pilot projects.

As we continue to work on our own transition and continue to focus on the transition themes, we will find those opportunities where we are comfortable with the risk and can ensure profitable growth. At the same time, we need to look closely at our product offering and adjust and innovate accordingly to ensure that we have the products and services that provide added value to our clients – including the small ones that lead the pack. As such, our focus will continue to be on supporting both the transition of the old economy and support new initiatives.

Q4. How do you collaborate and share your expertise with clients to accelerate the energy transition shift and help them become more sustainable?

We can only be successful in the transition themes if we stay very close to our clients and understand their challenges. To that extent, we make sure to have a very active dialogue with our clients and bring these topics up for discussion. Additionally, we need to work closely together across different teams and departments to pool together all relevant expertise and experience. This will ensure that we can offer suitable solutions to our clients. The intention of ABN AMRO to work much more as 'one bank' will certainly help.

Q5.How can banks do more to become 'changemakers' within sustainability?

ABN AMRO's purpose of "banking for better, for generations to come" underlies our adopted strategy. Climate change is just one area of focus, and we are now also shifting our attention to the broader social and governance-related parts of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). These are also important themes for our clients as they take an increasingly active role in looking after their employees' health, safety, and development, and try to connect with the broader communities they are active in.

Another interesting critical area within the ESG arena has been the promotion of human rights. ABN AMRO was the first bank in the world to publish a Human Rights Report in 2016 using the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, and we continue to take a leading role on this topic. Supporting our clients transition to sustainability aligned with what we are doing ourselves will help accelerate change, not only in decarbonising the economy but in all areas of ESG.

Q6. How can banks do more to become social ‘changemakers’ within sustainability?

ABN AMRO’s purpose of “Banking for better, for generations to come” underlies the strategy we have adopted. Climate change is just one area of focus and other critical areas within the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) arena has been the promotion of Human Rights. ABN AMRO’s first Human Rights Report was published in 2016, giving us recognition as the first bank in the world to report using the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework.  Supporting our clients transition to sustainability aligned with what we are doing ourselves will help accelerate change, in all areas of ESG, including moving towards a lower-carbon economy.