Frederik J. Kalff

Marije: Frederik Kalff, Director at Delen Private Bank in the Netherlands, we’re delighted that you’ve agreed to speak with us ahead of the Leaders in Finance Wealth Management event on March 6th, 2025. To start, could you kindly introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background? 

Frederik: With pleasure, Marije. Thank you very much for the invitation. I’m really looking forward to seeing you and all the other colleagues on the 6th of March. My name is Frederik Kalff, I’m 45 years old, married to a lovely Spanish lady, and we have two young sons. We live in Amsterdam, and I have been with the bank since 2010. Originally, it was called Oyens & Van Eeghen. We renamed it in 2022, after Delen acquired Oyens in 2016. In my 15 years with the bank, I have always focused on the commercial side. Currently, I am responsible for the entire commercial development of new clients and M&A activities. Throughout my career, my work has consistently centered around attracting new clients and serving existing ones. A large portion of my time, around 50-60%, is spent meeting with and interacting with clients. I am committed to keeping that percentage as high as possible because I believe being close to clients is essential to understanding their needs. It’s also a great way to lead by example. 

Marije: That ties in perfectly with my second question. Preparing for this interview, I heard on the podcast that you consider your clients your biggest stakeholders. I’m curious about how you define the relationship you have with your private banking clients. For instance, do you know them all personally? 

Frederik: Absolutely. I think this is a very important question because, for me, the key difference between asset management and private banking lies in the connection you have with the client and truly knowing them. In the Netherlands, we are fortunate to have strict authorities requiring us to know our clients, and we see this as a significant advantage. For us, understanding our clients is key. When working with our clients, we try to thoroughly understand their lives in order to identify the best solutions for their needs and wishes. This involves knowing them intimately—not just financially, but also understanding what drives them, what is important to them family-wise, whether they have a family, their business interests, their companies, and their vision for the future. Because these discussions often touch on deeply personal matters, it is essential to show commitment and earn their trust. Ultimately, it is about clients trusting their banker with sensitive information. For us bankers, truly knowing our clients enables us to proactively and personally provide relevant information and advice. We put great emphasis on personalized communication. When we do send out general newsletters, we tailor communications to each client’s interests. For example, we would avoid sending information about tax-exempt gifting to children to clients without children, as that could be seen as inappropriate. We encourage our bankers to know their clients personally and intimately.  

Marije: I know that Delen Private Banking originated in Belgium and is now active in other countries, as you mentioned. Having studied in Belgium myself, I’m aware of the cultural differences between Belgians and the Dutch, even though we share the same language. What are your observations regarding the differences in serving clients across these countries? 

Frederik: That’s an excellent question because, even though we speak the same language, we don’t always understand each other perfectly. It’s always good to keep that in mind. First and foremost, Delen is a family bank. Delen is the surname, the family name. The third generation of the Delen family is now leading the bank, which I believe is very important.I can’t speak for other Belgian banks or how they serve their clients, but in our case, I feel the DNA aligns closely with what we stand for in the Netherlands. Just as in Belgium, we focus heavily on getting to know our clients as well as possible and meeting with them regularly. One of our KPIs, for example, is the number of client visits. We closely monitor that every client is seen at least once a year and, depending on their size, sometimes twice or three times a year. Are there significant differences? A Dutch client, I think, is somewhat more reluctant at first to share all sorts of personal information. They may be more direct in asking why we need that information, which is, I believe, a typically Dutch characteristic. There’s also more focus on costs, which I think is entirely valid. Overall however, the approach to serving clients is very similar between the Netherlands and Belgium. In fact, we operate in five countries—Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Switzerland, and Luxembourg—and when I speak with my colleagues, they observe that the approach is largely the same. 

Marije: So, Delen Private Banking chooses to focus exclusively on discretionary asset management, if I understand correctly. You don’t offer any other financial products. Why is that? 

Frederik: We firmly believe in focusing on what you excel at and where you can add the most value. To be frank, many financial institutions excel at providing services like mortgages, credit cards, or debit cards. That’s not who we are. These services can easily be outsourced nowadays. Instead, we focus on the essential aspect: asset management. Our core offering is asset management as a service, centered around portfolios. Complementing this, we provide what we call financial estate planning, which is particularly important for our clients. This involves questions such as: Are you a limited enterprise or a private client? How do you structure things fiscally? Additionally, estate planning addresses how you envision transferring wealth to the next generation and ensuring its smooth transition. 

Marije: So, it comes down to that intimate relationship that you described before, right? To find out what exactly are the plans of your clients.  

Frederik: Yes, exactly. The only thing we offer is a credit line, but not based on assets like a house or real estate. Instead, it’s based on your portfolio. This is provided as a service. For example, a client with a 1 million euro portfolio can borrow up to 600,000 euros at a very low rate, for a period of six months or a year, to buy an apartment while selling something else at the same time. These are the areas we focus on, and we truly believe that efficiency, focus, and dedication to what you’re good at are the key to achieving the best results. 

Marije: Wonderful! We are really excited to have you at the event. Do you have any expectations? What are you hoping for when you think about the 6th of March? 

Frederik: First of all, I’m really looking forward to seeing all of you, as well as the colleagues from the other financial institutions. I believe it’s important that we stay in regular contact and exchange insights about what we’re seeing in the market, as well as what other companies are experiencing and what’s happening at their organizations. I’m excited to share that information. I’m also eager to hear what my colleagues have observed recently in the markets. Is there a difference in what clients are asking for, and if so, how are you responding to that? This is a key topic I’m particularly excited about. I’m looking forward to sharing my own insights and learning from everyone. 

Marije: Perfect, thanks for this conversation, Frederik, we’ll see each other on the 6th. 

Frederik: It’s a great pleasure, Marije. Thank you so much, and I’m really looking forward to it.