Niels Vlaming

Finance & Risk Management

Niels Vlaming’s story

"I was nineteen when I first began working for ABN AMRO. It all felt rather overwhelming and I wasn't really sure exactly where in the organisation I fitted. But thanks to the open atmosphere, where there was always room for a joke, I soon felt at my ease. As a Financial Controller in Retail, I learned a huge amount because I had excellent supervision. That's how they helped me to grow."

Careful reporting

"I’m now ten or so years further on and working at ABN AMRO Mortgages Group. That’s a subsidiary of ABN AMRO Bank N.V., in other words, a separate organisation within the bank. This means that we have both direct reporting obligations and contributions which we make to ABN AMRO's central reporting requirements. Of course, this has to be done carefully and on time, and as a Reporting Specialist in the Finance Department, I am partly responsible for that."

Frequent contacts with colleagues

"As a bank, we have reporting obligations to both the ECB and DNB. The data we provide must, of course, be in order, and this calls for a certain amount of analysis work. That can be pretty challenging. I sometimes think it's a pity that I don’t have direct contact with clients, but I do at least speak to many different colleagues within the bank. That makes the work highly enjoyable and dynamic."

From sustainable mortgages to teaching children sports

"You can clearly see that ABN AMRO is on the move. There are new projects constantly on the go, many of them relating to sustainability.” And we’re also taking steps in other areas: for instance, ensuring that we have increasing amounts of data available to us. This aids our analysis, but at the same time we also have to be prepared for the ever-increasing demand for reports. Which means we also have to keep on developing ourselves."

"A great way to be socially involved is through the ABN AMRO Foundation. Through sports, for example, which happens to be right up my street. I do something through the Foundation at least twice a year: giving sports instruction or taking part in a Christmas activity with the elderly, that kind of thing. It's a great social contribution which also gives me extra energy.

Dare to put your head above the parapet!

"If there’s one thing I would say to a newcomer to ABN AMRO, it’s: be open! You’re trusted here, and encouraged to keep on developing. But to do so, you have to dare to put your head above the parapet. There’s a huge amount going on here, and the atmosphere is open and relaxed. And if there's something you don’t know, just ask! You can drop in on each other any time."