Risk is life.

What is the main purpose of your role?

Keeping the bank safe and secure by managing risks. For the sake of our clients, of society and our employees. It all comes down to how much risk the bank is willing to take to do business. With processes that are compliant with our risk appetite on one hand and regulations on the other.

What makes you love working in Risk at ING?

Risk is life. Living itself is about taking risks, in every situation. You need to make decisions all the time, based on the right information. Do I want to take that risk? What will be the consequences? That constant balancing is what makes me love my job.

Giving opportunities to people is what makes this company so special. I had multiple roles at ING. You can easily change your career path. It’s also a very diverse environment on all counts. This brings a lot of fresh insights and experience to the table which enriches your day-to-day job.

Is risk hot to you?

Yes it is. Like I said, risk is everywhere in life. We read about financial crimes in the newspaper for example. Financial crime happens to be my field of expertise. And I wouldn’t want to put my money in a bank that is close to the money of criminals. Would you?

As a customer, I would want to know that my money is well managed and secure. I get to contribute to that. We are stimulated to think about what the better solution would be, in our opinion. If you don’t take ownership, this approach won’t work. Ownership and impact make it very rewarding to me.

Sounds like a lot of the rules and regulations are at play?

It’s not just about following the rules. It’s more about managing the grey zones. That may sound boring but know that rules and regulations are always a direct result of real-life situations. Just look at your daily life, and you’ll see that there is a real need for them. Without them, there is chaos.

Rules and regulations are usually quite high level, with a lot of room for interpretation. That makes my job interesting as well. It’s not just a checklist job. You need to take ownership and responsibility. Make decisions based on your own interpretation of those regulations.

Do banks only care about money?

We have a role to play in society. Managing money for our clients is our purpose. That means we care about the people who own that money. In addition, ING also cares about the people who work here. We get a lot of flexibility to balance personal matters with your professional commitments. I must admit that having three children helps a lot.

It’s easy to find your fit and grow. It’s a shared responsibility. I see it as my job to share what I know. To coach colleagues and help them grow. In fact, we help each other develop our careers and get the opportunities and support from ING to do so.