“I always wanted to be a banker”

The Kalff interview

Conservative but dynamic

A marriage of necessity

When did you join the bank?

In 1964. I joined the Netherlands Trading Society (NTS), six months before it merged with De Twentsche Bank to form ABN.

Were you from a banking family?

My father was a lawyer. But I’d always wanted to become a banker. My father hoped I’d become a barrister too, so I selected law studies. But all my optional subjects at university were in the direction of economics and finance.