FimBank plc appoints new management members

International trade finance institution FimBank plc has announced three key appointments. Walter Cools has joined the bank as head of trade services, while Thomas Dissen has taken on the role of head of corporate and institutional banking. Sylvia Schmitz, on the other hand, has been appointed as FimBank's head of transaction management control.

Commenting on these appointments, Armin Eckermann, FimBank's head of banking and deputy president, said: "We are delighted to welcome such experienced and highly-skilled professionals to our team. Apart from being a manifestation of the bank's growth strategy, these appointments also underline our commitment to offer the best service possible to our clients. Mr Dissen, Mr Cools and Ms Schmitz bring a wealth of directly relevant experience, technical skills and specialist knowledge to FimBank."

Mr Cools started his 30-year banking career as an internal auditor with Bank of America in Belgium and later headed the bank's documentary services department. He later joined a Swiss-based trading company as a senior trade finance officer. He went on to take up the post of head of funds transfer and documentary services at Rabobank International in Belgium, subsequently joining Barclays Bank in Brussels as head of its trade finance department. Prior to his appointment at FimBank, he worked at Fortis Bank where he was instrumental in the analysis of and consultancy for trade finance software implementation for Europe.

During his London-based professional life, Mr Dissen has held the post of managing director, head of relationship management and origination and global financial institutions at Lloyds TSB, assistant general manager, head of treasury and capital market sales at Bayern LB, as well as the post of director and head of corporate and institutional marketing for Europe at KBC. He was also director and deputy head of corporate banking Europe at Daiwa Securities. Prior to joining FimBank plc, he held the position of director European Banks at National Australia Bank.

Ms Schmitz commenced her 20-year international banking career at WestLB in trade finance business, where she gained vast experience in all forms of financing, specialising in documentary credits and the structuring of complex trade transactions. She was later appointed senior controller in commodity finance. As senior credit analyst FI, she was responsible for financial analysis, account relationship management and risk management, including Watchlist cases. She has also lectured on trade finance and payment and trained the staff of WestLB's worldwide network.