Marcia Besselink-Soons

The customer relationship and the long-term opportunities – that’s what really counts

Having worked as a financial advisor and private banker for many years, one day Marcia asked herself whether she wanted to stay in the financial sector. The answer was a wholehearted ‘yes’, but she was keen for a change of scenery. She joined ING as Personal Banker in late 2016.

“Having amassed many years of experience, there came a point when I wanted to reassess my future career. Did I still find the work sufficiently interesting and challenging? I decided I did, but I would benefit from a change of scenery. There was an immediate click with ING; I felt renewed energy and eagerness to tackle my work. The role would allow me to focus on having contact with customers again, and that’s what I enjoy most: talking to lots of different people and helping them to achieve their dreams.”

“My customers have assets of up to half a million euros. Many of them are entrepreneurs, but I also work with a lot of customers with an artistic background, lawyers and people who have received an inheritance or have profited from a property sale. Their questions are equally diverse, and I really love the fact that my work is so varied.”

“Customers often share personal information with me. For example, I had in-depth conversations with one couple who had to sort out all kinds of financial matters following the death of one of their children. So things can get emotional at times, but thankfully there are plenty of happy moments too: one man had found the love of his life after being on his own for years, and they wanted to organise their joint financial situation properly, and another customer had checked his balance and suddenly discovered that he’d won a huge amount in the lottery. I took him into the meeting room so we could talk in private...!”


“The commercial aspect of my work is important, but there’s no point in only focusing on ‘sealing the deal’. The customer relationship and the long-term opportunities – that’s what really counts. A fellow Private Banker and I recently visited a businessman together. He told us all about the history of his company and showed us around. There was a really good click. Before we left, he invited us to go and see the local professional football club’s next match with him. During the match he introduced me to one of his contacts who is selling his company next year. ING can play a role in such matters. Mutually sharing energy like that makes my work more enjoyable; it’s very rewarding when customers absorb you into their network and are happy with the service you provide. I always aim to form a real bond with my customers, to work with them for many years and to show them that they can achieve their goals and dreams with my help.”

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Marcia studied international management at HES Amsterdam and started working in the financial sector immediately after graduating. She spent a couple of years freelancing before joining the payroll of Rabobank, where she eventually progressed to the role of private banker. She works full-time and her husband owns his own building company. They have a son and daughter together. Family life revolves around football; both the children play football at the local club, they all watch football matches together on TV (dressed in the official kit for good luck) and their social network largely consists of other ‘soccer moms and dads’.

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