“I always wanted to be a banker”
Why are you building a new head office for ABN Amro?
When we discussed the merger between ABN and Amro, one of the things we were concerned about was possible cultural differences. The selection of a head office was an important element. People were watching closely whether the board would move into the old Amro or old ABN building. We were very sensitive to that. Another reason was that we had no building big enough to contain the whole head office staff. Also we thought that, as we were planning to create a new bank, that implied also a new face. All these reasons brought us to the conclusion that it was worthwhile to spend almost DFL850 million on a new head office.
The original plan was to open in 1997. Why is it delayed?
Itís not our fault. The city of Amsterdam held it up. It took longer than expected to get the approvals. This is a very democratic country where everybody likes to protest.
But it doesn’t seem a controversial place to build, right by the motorway near Schipol airport.
Yes, but on the location the municipality promised us there was a tennis centre. They had to move the tennis centre somewhere else. They decided to move it to a public park just outside Amsterdam. That dragged out the approvals process.
What’s the style of the new building? Dutch banks have a habit of building unusual head offices. Take ING’s [which doesn’t have a single right angle].
It’s very big: 75,000 square metres. It will be the number one or two building in terms of capacity in the whole country.
There will be two towers, built around a dealing-room. We wanted to have the dealing-room close to the managing board. It will be the largest dealing-room in continental Europe. It has to be on only one floor. If you want 500 positions, it needs an enormous room, on the ground floor with nothing on top for safety reasons. Around the dealing-room is one very large tower, a somewhat smaller tower and some other structures of seven to 10 floors. We want to get across the message that we’re international, modern and dynamic, but that we don’t over-do things. So we’re not building in the same luxurious style as the EBRD.
No marble then?
Only a little. It will be a combination of Dutch seriousness with a more open, modern feel. The architects are the famous Pei, Cobb, Freed and Partners from New York who constructed the Bank of China building in Hong Kong and the Louvre pyramid. Personally I’m fascinated by the whole design, I think it’s wonderful. The idea is that it’s a combination of conservatism and dynamism.
[Laughs]
Don’t laugh – this is really serious.
The black granite suggests conservatism?
Yes – the strong, old-established, solid bank. The towers are not totally straight, they widen out towards the top. That represents dynamism and an international perspective. By Dutch standards, it’s a tall structure. But it’s not really very high: only 24 floors. There are restrictions. We wanted to build higher but couldn’t because the building is only 3km or 4km from the airport.
The new building will let us reduce the number of head office premises in Amsterdam from 15 to 2 or three. It’s awful now – we’re spread all over the place, here [in Amsterdam South-east] and in the centre. It’s a great inefficiency.
How is the head office split now?
The same key divisions are in the main building in Amsterdam South-east: investment banking, the top management of the international division, and credit and risk management. The more back office functions are in other buildings. With the new head office, we’ll be left with just two: Amsterdam South-east and the new one. The board will be in the new one.
Do you go to see the construction site?
Yes, I like to follow progress. I’ve been on the plot several times. They tell me that at the moment it takes six working days to go up one storey. The core is now visible. They’re somewhat behind schedule, but two years from now we will be in.
