A fruitful partnership

At RiskQuest we strive to create long-term partnerships with our clients. One of such partnerships started in 2019 when we began to collaborate with Achmea Bank to work towards their goal of becoming an A-IRB compliant bank. In 2023 all efforts were rewarded when De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) granted Achmea Bank their A-IRB license. More than half a decade has passed since the start of our collaboration, meaning it is about time to look back at the partnership and discuss what lies ahead. We do this on a Tuesday afternoon in a lunchroom in Tilburg, with Paul Donkers and Kasia Koziol from the Reporting, Analytics and Modelling (RAM) department.

It has been quite some time since our partnership began in 2019, why do you choose for a long-term partnership with RiskQuest?

Multiple reasons, really. First, long term partnerships fit perfect in our strategy as network bank. Secondly, we believe an “outside-in” view is key for us to improve further as organization. Next to this, for us it is most efficient to source the additional capacity and know-how required for larger projects from external companies, such as RiskQuest. This also holds true for the development of the capital models required for the A-IRB license, the main focus point of our collaboration together with the development of the IFRS-9 models.

Having a long-term partnership comes with two additional benefits. First, the continuity in knowledge is warranted. Second, RiskQuest is familiar with our organization and understands the current situation and where we come from. Because of this it is very easy to talk and to come to a common understanding quickly. For us the collaboration is more than doing projects; RiskQuest’s availability to occasionally help with questions and discussions on short notice is much appreciated.

What sets RiskQuest apart from other consultancy companies?

If you ask us why we specifically choose RiskQuest, a few things come to mind. It all begins with good quality of work. This is a minimum requirement for any long-term relationship. What really makes the collaboration work for us is the non-nonsense attitude that we share. RiskQuest has a strong sense of pragmatism that helps bring the projects that we do forward. RiskQuest is providing realistic solutions which are relevant in our setting. Making clear what is required as minimum and which additions are possible. This is valuable input for setting priorities.

We (RiskQuest) equally value our partnership. We experience a great deal of freedom in an environment that is very collaborative. How did Achmea Bank manage to create such a cooperative environment?

Giving freedom revolves around trust, which in turn can only be gained if there is a track record of good quality work. With this trust we can create a very efficient working environment. What also helps is that the entire organization is very supportive and fully committed to the A-IRB project. This allows us to keep strings short and tackle challenges quickly.

What improvement points do you see for RiskQuest, and in particular our partnership with Achmea Bank?

A potential risk is that the focus of both RiskQuest and Achmea Bank is on the own Achmea models, for us it is important that you continue with challenging us based on your “outside-in” view.