Lennart Jilesen

Customer & Products

Lennart structures and manages loans for retail companies 

"I'm actually a traditional banker. My team lends capital and ensures that it’s repaid. That’s also the good thing about the 'product' we sell: we’re keen to lend to businesses, but we don’t want them to overreach themselves. If I were a bicycle shop, I’d want to sell as many bicycles as possible. But here, I have to take into account the risk of our product not being be repaid."

"I’m a relationship manager in the Commercial Banking Clients department, and I finance companies in the retail sector. Mainly large fashion companies, but also other kinds, including automobile companies, wholesalers and art dealers. My main clients, though, are the larger clothing chains. If they want to borrow money to buy a business outlet or invest in a new collection, they end up at my door. I structure the loan. That means I decide which limited companies to lend to and what financial agreements should govern the loan, such as the level of interest. I’m also their key port of call for everything relating to the loan, such as insurance, guarantees, bank cards and foreign currency payments."

From factoring to a broader role

"I initially spent a year working for a currency broker. There were also a couple of former bankers from ABN AMRO there, and they told me: go and work for the bank, you can learn a lot there. When I applied, I went for the job I’m doing now, but in a more junior position. Then, three years ago, I was able to move to a role where I only did 'factoring': loans based on accounts receivable. Say a department store buys EUR 100,000 worth of bikinis and bras from a lingerie brand, but only pays for them three months later. How does a company bridge that gap? My job was to assess these amounts and advance the finance so that the company could continue to pay its rent and its staff."
"So how does that differ from what I do now? Initially I was a specialist, whereas now I’m a kind of general account manager and can offer customers many more different types of financing. I also have more frequent contact with them. At a lunch meeting or dinner, we can easily spend the first 30 minutes talking about the customer's children and grandchildren and the holiday. Only then do we move on to the finances. After a time you build a real relationship with someone. These visits are what make the work so rewarding."

Learning the trade at ABN AMRO

"I studied law, then did a Masters in business administration. It may sound odd, but at the time I knew little about finance other than that assets and liabilities make up a company's balance sheet. Everything I now know, I learned here. I put a lot of time and effort into it myself of course. But I was also given all the scope I needed. Everything around us points to the fact that the bank is keen for you to grow."

"By contrast, in the SMEs I arrange loans for, new employees are expected to deliver immediately; there’s no time for them to learn the ropes. The unique thing about ABN AMRO is that it gives you plenty of opportunity to develop yourself. This is also reflected in the training we’re offered. Each employee is given an annual training budget of EUR 1,000 which they can save for up to three years. I’m quite a talker and sometimes find it hard to get to the point, so I recently took a course on effective communication. It lasted three days and was given by communication specialists. I found it extremely useful."

Loans as a kick-start to growth

"ABN AMRO is a great organisation. Banks have an important social role to perform, especially for companies, in that we keep the economy lubricated. We lend them money which in turn enables them to employ people. We ensure that companies can continue to do business, invest and grow. Obviously we sometimes have to refuse a loan if we feel the customer can’t afford the repayments. But if a company has a good plan, a loan will give it the opportunity to become financially independent. That role is entrusted to us, and we work together to deliver it. It's incredibly gratifying."