Zuyderzee Capital, the Dutch shipping investment and advisory services company, has raided domestic bank ABN Amro again to add to its management team.
Martijn van den Berg has joined as a director to run its new operational and administrative advisory division, as part of an expansion of the consultancy services Zuyderzee offers.
"Martijn is a great addition to Zuyderzee, because in his years with ABN Amro he worked closely with ABN’s shipping clients on client due diligence (CDD), know-your-customer (KYC), cash management etc on behalf of the bank," the Hague-based company's managing partner, Michiel Steeman, told TradeWinds:
"Zuyderzee sees increased scope to offer these services to the shipowning community to assist owners in dealing with their lenders efficiently and with required quality."
The latest hire comes after Steeman joined as managing partner last year after having spent more than 20 years at Germany's DVB Bank, while Zuyderzee has recruited two other executives from ABN Amro since 2017.
Pressure growing
Van den Berg spent more than 24 years at the Dutch shipping lender. Before this stint, he headed Fortis Bank's securities handling office.
"The unveiling of our enhanced suite of services comes at a point in time where the regulatory and administrative pressure on businesses has never been greater," added senior managing partner Henk Detailleur.
"Regulation requires financial institutions to have more stringent KYC and CDD requirements; there has been the introduction of the ultimate-beneficial-owner (UBO) register across Europe; there is more diligence on so-called high-risk-country money transfers — and many other regulations."
Detailleur said Zuyderzee sees a large opportunity to assist businesses in addressing the burden arising from this.
And he warned that failing to manage the issues may not only mean missed opportunities but could also cause real harm to a company.
Be diligent
Steeman added: "CDD is also more and more required in many international trading and other businesses, eg review of a counterparty in a charter agreement.
"Also, loan agreements become larger, contain clauses relevant to many departments in a company, and have many conditions and reporting to comply with. We are able to add a lot of value to streamline all this."
Last year, Zuyderzee added ABN Amro's Caspar van Overklift as a director, while Detailleur was also at the Dutch bank before joining Zuyderzee.
New recruit Van den Berg said: "The banking industry is constantly changing and increasing regulation may have a negative impact on business continuity.
"We assist and support businesses effectively complying with these regulations in a cost-efficient manner and assist companies implementing or reviewing cash management operations or banking systems."
