Frankfurt Eddy Henning is following in big footsteps. At the turn of the year, the 49-year-old will replace Joachim von Schorlemer as head of ING corporate clients. “We have worked together very well and trustingly as a tandem for a year and a half,” says Henning about his time with Schorlemer. Henning worked at Deutsche Bank before joining ING in Singapore in 2018. The married father of two children has been responsible for the German corporate banking business as a general representative since 2020.
Schorlemer is one of the most prominent Frankfurt bankers and was instrumental in building up the corporate customer business at his old employer BNP, where he was last head of Germany. The major French bank has been expanding in this country for years and is considered to be the most broadly positioned competitor of the domestic institutes.
Schorlemer’s departure from BNP in 2013 was a scandal. Paris fired him for flimsy reasons. His lawyer stated in the labor court case: “Von Schorlemer is one of the last conservative bankers. Little investment, rather classic SME financing. “The” Bild “then gave Schorlemer the label” Gut-Banker “- and asked:” Bank boss fired because he didn’t want to gamble? “
The career kink lasted only a short time. Since 2016, Schorlemer has been working at ING to repeat the success – with many highs and few lows. While the pre-tax profit in corporate banking in 2015 was 141 million euros, it climbed to 312 million euros in the first three quarters of 2021. The direct bank broke new ground with the opening of four corporate customer support points, which ING must by no means be called “branches”. Corporate customer advisors are represented on site in Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Essen – in future Düsseldorf.
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“We have been doing wholesale banking for ten years,” says Schorlemer of his division. “So actually we’re not even teenagers yet. But it has come a long way. ”According to Henning, ING is now involved in around a quarter of all sustainability mandates in Germany in a leading role, as arranger, structurer or as a companion in capital market transactions.
Henning has been with ING since 2018, previously he worked for Deutsche Bank.
(Photo: ING Germany)
ING is still an attacker, but has since established a relationship with most of the major German corporations and selected medium-sized companies. These are taken care of with loans, issuing bonds, and mergers and acquisitions. “We don’t see ourselves as an investment bank and we don’t just want to be there at the big events, we also want to support our customers in traditional corporate banking,” says Schorlemer.
ING has a relationship with around 150 companies, “ING is not yet a house bank with the entire product portfolio – but that can still happen,” says Schorlemer.
There were also setbacks. The loan to the payment service provider Wirecard, which went down in the course of a billion-dollar fraud scandal, cost ING almost 200 million euros in 2020 – and brought the bankers a reprimand from Amsterdam. A lawsuit against the Wirecard auditor EY is being reconsidered, but should – if at all – only be filed after a corresponding lawsuit by Commerzbank.
Schorlemer, who will turn 65 in June, will not be leaving the management team for the time being. He remains ING Deputy Chief Executive Officer. In addition, he will temporarily fill the currently vacant position of the organizational board member. ING is looking for a suitable manager for these.
Schorlemer’s board contract is still running, but it is possible that he will resign as early as 2022. “I’m looking forward to more time for other passions than banking: Spending more time with my family, immersing myself in a book and getting back on the surfboard,” he says. However, his environment considers a complete farewell to the industry to be unlikely.
Successor Henning meanwhile has big plans in the corporate customer business: “Our signs point to growth.” The future lies particularly in the ESG area with sustainable financial transactions, such as the financing of climate protection measures or new data technologies.
Henning wants to strengthen the young team. The number of employees rose last year by almost 30 to over 450. “The expansion should continue in 2022,” announced Henning. Management is also being expanded: a new IT management board post (CIO) is being created. For the time being, bank manager Nick Jue will take over this position, and board member Zeljko Kaurin will leave the company at the end of the year.
More: ING boss Steven van Rijswijk in an interview: “Buying a house is getting more and more difficult for young people – it cannot go on like this forever”