“We need to deliver the power of the full bank to our clients”

Serena Fioravanti shares her first impressions of the bank and her vision on risk management. “We see potential to serve our clients even better and grow with them.”

You began as Chief Risk Officer in October 2024. What’s your first impression?

“We have a sound portfolio, a solid brand and a Risk department that can support and help execute our strategy to the benefit of our clients. ABN AMRO is a 200-year-old bank with a very loyal client base, which requires the best possible care. That’s why we want to be risk managers that enable the bank to take risks and serve clients in a controlled, compliant and collaborative way. Risk responsibility should be taken at the right level in the organisation, closer to the business, by people who have the ability, know-how and courage to make decisions.”

What do you expect to bring to the bank?

“Coming from the outside, I hope to support innovation and new ways of working. Together with my team, I want to be the champion of simplification, effectiveness and efficiency. We need to simplify the way we are set up and work together across the bank. That will allow us to handle client requests better and faster, while maintaining a strict risk focus. To make this happen, I’ve already started to work more effectively in the Risk department. For example, our Risk Committee meetings have become shorter, crisper and tailored to the risks that matter. What’s also important is that we act in a coordinated way across all parts of the bank. We need to work as one team – only then can we deliver the power of the full bank to our clients.”

Let’s move to 2024, how do you view the bank’s performance and strategic progress in the past year?

“The bank delivered very well. The acquisition of Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe will enhance our position in Germany and add to our capital-light operating model in Wealth Management. This is strategically important because it diversifies our revenue streams by increasing fee income and decreasing our dependence on interest income. This is very welcome, also from a risk perspective. We also built on our leadership position in mortgages and maintained our solid risk profile on the corporate side. Credit losses were very small, which is largely the result of us having de-risked the corporate bank. We will continue to take calculated and controlled risks in our growth sectors.”

How do you view the bank’s risk profile? Do you expect any changes?

“Sound risk taking is key to the growth of the bank. If we want to grow, we must take risks. But we will continue to do so in a compliant and controlled manner. Even within the bank’s strict risk focus, we see potential to serve our clients even better and grow with them. Risk Management’s task is to sustain growth while setting up the bank for the future, strengthening our capital position and ensuring the bank is resilient.”

You talked about focusing on the risks that matter. Can you name a few?

“We are of course closely following developments in the world. Interest rate changes are a key driver of the bank’s performance but also a key risk. Another is that we are a credit house. The cycle is still relatively positive. We don’t see negative developments in house prices, sectors and overall macroeconomics in the Netherlands, but of course we are monitoring all potential risks.

One risk for banks that I would like to highlight here is cyberthreat, which has really been increasing. In 2024, we had numerous threats every day. We are putting a lot of effort into securing clients’ data at all times. We are strengthening the bank’s cyber defences, taking down phishing sites and using tools to stop data leaks. Increasingly, we provide advice to clients on how to recognise and prevent fraud and identity theft.

Another area is sustainability, which is one of the bank’s strategic pillars. We continue to assess our clients’ sustainability exposure in all credit decisions, and we are progressing on our climate strategy. For instance, in corporate banking we expanded in our transition themes: new energies, digital and mobility. But of course, we are also looking at sustainability from a compliance perspective. For the first time, our annual report is in line with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.”

What do the new Basel IV capital rules mean for your risk approach?

“In the last years, the bank has started to simplify its credit risk models and has embraced Basel IV as of the first quarter of 2025. Basel IV brings stricter capital requirements. It also encourages banks to move from internal to more standardised risk models that demand extensive, granular data. One of our top priorities is to be compliant with these new rules and to continue improving our capital position, models and data quality.”

How do you see the bank’s future?

“We are operating in a market that’s mature and not growing fast and, as I just discussed, one that continuously needs to adapt to new regulatory requirements. This forces our bank, like many other banks in Europe, to continue to ensure an effective operating model that is future-proof. Returning to your question about my first impressions: I believe that ABN AMRO has a lot of potential. We have very good people with expertise and a willingness to operate as one team, to take on strategic challenges and deliver the best possible experience to our clients.”