Liz

DNB trainee

From internship to traineeship

“I was looking for an internship during my Master’s and DNB immediately appealed to me. It is a knowledge institute where you can learn a lot and get a unique insight into economic policy. An organisation that also has a social impact from an economic point of view, but is politically neutral. That seemed interesting. I felt that here you can really contribute to sustainable economic growth and a stable financial sector. My internship was at the Economic Policy and Research Division, in the General Economic Policy Department, which advises ministries on economics issues. I was really impressed with the expertise in the department, plus the fact that everyone was more than willing to share their knowledge with me. That was a further motivation for me to apply for the traineeship

Preventing financial crime

During my internship, I wrote my thesis on the impact of the abolition of the basic student grant and the introduction of the student loan system on student debt and home ownership. I researched whether higher student debt affects people’s ability to buy a house. My first placement as a trainee is totally different. I now work at Horizontal Functions & Integrity Supervision, where we check whether financial institutions are taking sufficient measures to prevent financial crime, such as money laundering and terrorist financing. During my internship, I worked mostly with economists, now I work mostly with lawyers. I don’t have a legal background, so I am learning a huge amount. This really reflects the breadth of DNB's operations and shows how widely you can be involved as a trainee.

I hope to explore more of DNB’s international side.

The supervisor’s role

As a supervisor, you look at risk assessments, policies and procedures, and at specific transactions, among other things. During on-site inspections, you examine files at the institution together with a compliance officer. You look at whether transaction monitoring is in order and whether alerts are being handled correctly. And whether the institution is doing enough in terms of KYC - the 'know your customer' principle. We then share our findings with the institution. Sometimes everything is in order and sometimes our findings result in enforcement action, such as a fine. The dynamic between supervisor and institution is interesting: you work together, but also ask critical questions. As a trainee, you suddenly have a role with a lot of responsibility. You assess institutions for compliance and engage with experienced professionals who make high-impact decisions. That is instructive and challenging at the same time.

International collaboration

My group of trainees is currently exploring our next placement. My studies had an international focus and DNB works closely with bodies like the ECB and the IMF. Geopolitical risks make such collaboration increasingly relevant, and in my next placement I hope to explore more of DNB’s international side. I feel that I can continue to grow and learn at DNB for many years to come. I have spoken to department heads who have worked here for twenty-five years. That sounds like a long time, but then when you hear about everything they got to experience at DNB, you totally get it. There are so many opportunities here!”

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