Katarina van der Luit

Having studied economics and financial mathematics in Slovakia, Katarina was well-suited for a position as a model validator. She had been working at an Austrian bank with branches in, among others, Bratislava and Vienna for five years when she was approached by ING. 

Easy decision

“It was an easy decision for me to work in the Netherlands,” Katarina says. “It helped that I already had a Dutch fiancé, so establishing a private life wouldn’t be too hard, and the role ING offered me was very similar to my previous job. Another huge attraction was the international environment I’d be working in at ING, because I love the dynamics of teams with people from different countries, nationalities and backgrounds. And although I am now learning Dutch, it helped that English is the working language, of course.”  

Independent assessors

Katarina and her team are responsible for validating trading risk models for Wholesale Banking. “We are the independent assessors of the models that are built by ING’s model developers. Our main goal is to keep the bank safe by making sure that our models are compliant with all the internal and external regulations. Among other aspects, we test and evaluate the models for functioning, the assumptions made by the developers, and the accuracy of the documentation. Every single model, whether new or existing, passes through our hands. It’s a precise and sometimes lengthy process. Complex models can take up to four months to be assessed.” 

Facts, figures and the finer points of communication

While a model validator’s work may be mainly based on facts and figures, communication skills are just as important as mathematical knowledge, according to Katarina. “You definitely need the ability to interact smoothly with colleagues. Every validation report has to be discussed with the developers, and the findings and conclusions must be presented to the MT. Our role involves a lot of meetings with stakeholders. In fact, our job is to find the weaknesses of a model and identify where there is room for improvement. We challenge our colleagues on that, so there might even be conflicts sometimes.” 

Ultimately satisfying

“At the same time, I find it ultimately satisfying when different points of view come together and results are achieved. I get a lot of energy from that, and also from my team; I enjoy working with so many different people – from very experienced colleagues to the youngsters who are increasingly joining us. At this moment, I couldn’t wish for a better place to work.”