ABN AMRO Public Affairs: the bank’s link with The Hague and Brussels

Daniel Tuijnman and Evelien Alblas represent the bank as part of the Public Affairs team. Listed on the Lobby Register of the Lower House of the Dutch parliament, Daniel is based in The Hague. Evelien, for her part, works in Brussels, and her name can be found on the Transparency Register for EU institutions.

Daniel says, “There’s a constant interchange of ideas between Public Affairs, politicians and policymakers. But it’s not just the lobbyists who are in contact with others, since we, too, are frequently approached by politicians and policymakers for input. That’s the case both here in The Hague and in Brussels.”

The bank’s sustainability objectives are a key principle guiding this exchange, particularly initiatives ABN AMRO is undertaking to help its clients make the transition to sustainability.

Evelien says, “In Brussels, there’s a slightly different perception of the financial sector compared with The Hague and especially within the context of the current Covid-19 crisis. While the European Parliament in particular can sometimes take a very critical stance, it’s clear to Brussels that banks are part of the solution, not the problem. They play an important role in society and in financing economic recovery and the transition to sustainability.” At the same time, Daniel points out that there was a great deal of contact between the Dutch Ministries of Economic Affairs and Finance and the banks during the coronavirus crisis. “We had to help thousands of businesspeople. Obviously, that means we had to work together. ABN AMRO, for its part, introduced a standard six-month deferral plan for interest and repayment obligations.”

Evelien says, “The banking sector advises and lobbies the European Commission on a wide range of issues – from tackling money laundering to cybersecurity and innovative financial products. After all, banks have certain experience and expertise which the Commission lacks. I should also point out that it’s not all ‘outbound’ either, since another key aspect of Public Affairs involves monitoring. We keep an eye on current political and social developments and on the legislation and regulations we can anticipate. All this enables us to keep our ABN AMRO colleagues fully up to date at all times.” 

One area in which these two aspects of Public Affairs converge is sustainable finance, a keystone of the bank’s strategy. Daniel explains, “ABN AMRO is hard at work in the area of sustainable finance – a better and sustainable way of banking. But there are two very different sides to sustainable finance. The first is about us as a bank taking responsibility, transforming our product range and offering green investment products as the default option. The second involves us trying to persuade our clients to be as green and sustainable as possible.”

Evelien continues, “The European Commission’s European Green Deal is extremely ambitious in this respect. ABN AMRO can provide useful input here based on its own knowledge and experience. But we’re also here to advise politicians and policymakers on the feasibility of their plans in terms of process and proposed implementation rate. While their approach is often conceptual, we as a bank are more concerned with the operational side.

In this connection, the bank’s CEO Robert Swaak recently met with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in Brussels, Frans Timmermans, who is responsible for the development and roll-out of the EU’s green agenda. The Commission presented its hydrogen strategy on 8 July, an area in which the bank is also an active player. What role can we occupy in the transition to hydrogen? It’s the perfect opportunity for us to share our knowledge and experience with the Commission. We also provided recent input during EU consultations on taxonomy (which investments are and are not considered ‘green’?), the Non-Financial Reporting Directive, green bonds and the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan, a wide-ranging package of sustainability measures.” 

In all these ways, Public Affairs operates as a link between politics and government policy on the one hand and the bank’s core activities on the other. But all for one and the same purpose: “Banking for better, for generations to come”.