ING Bank has appointed Arthur Zou as branch manager of ING Bank Shanghai effective November 1 2017, and subject to regulatory approval. He will concurrently be appointed head of multinational clients China.

Zou will report directly to Aart-Jan den Hartog, country manager Greater China and Mongolia. After being based in Shanghai for two years, Hartog will continue to drive ING’s growth plans for the Greater China region out of Hong Kong.

In Zou’s dual role as head of MNC China, he will report to Victor Abad, the head of multinational clients in Asia.

Zou is an experienced senior banker who has worked for European banks in Europe and China. He has held multiple senior roles at BNP Paribas Fortis and ABN AMRO Bank. Zou was based in Brussels with BNP Paribas Fortis as head of ALM Risk & Modeling. His most recent position at ABN AMRO was Shanghai branch manager and head of Dutch Corporate Clients. In this role, he spearheaded the re-entry and re-establishment of ABN AMRO’s franchise in China and was also responsible for driving the bank’s corporate banking, trade finance and M&A advisory business.

Zou holds a Ph.D in applied economics from Kathlolieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) and he is a chartered financial analyst.

Aart-Jan den Hartog says, “Our strategic growth focus in China continues to emphasise supporting Chinese businesses looking for outbound expansion. We are delighted to have Arthur on board. His strong cross-cultural management experience will be an asset in expanding our client base in China, and provide a bridge between our Europe and China capabilities.”

Abad says, “Arthur brings solid experience to ING, especially working with European MNCs in the region, which will be a very important element in the future development of the MNC Asia strategy.”