Department Head: Account Documentation Control
CBvE Zürich

What is a typical day like in your office?

I start each day at 6:30 am with a trip to the gym. The first thing I do when I get to the office is to check my mails. I average about 40 a day. I make it a point that every mail is answered and generally I answer within 30 minutes. I receive a lot of pre-check requests for complicated legal structures. This helps the private bankers to advise what documents are missing in the early stages to the clients.

My team checks the private person and legal entity openings. I double check only the legal entities. They also handle modifications, single documents and any changes after the account is opened as well as the administration of the PITS (Pending Items Tracking System).

I visit our branches regularly including offshore. Not only to give workshops and trainings but to ensure them that all branches are equally important and that I am always available to assist them in any way.

What’s the best thing about working for Coutts?

The people I work and deal with. I have a good relationship with a lot of the private bankers. Of course I am also aware that due to the nature of my job, I will not win a “Miss Popularity” contest. In fact I have a lot of nicknames in the bank. I am called the Terminator, Big Monster and Policewoman. But my favourite will always be “The Dentist” given to me by the Austrian team. Why? They say it is because it is painful to come to me but necessary.

I treat my team as family. I enjoy buying presents for them for their birthdays and for Christmas. And I invite them once in a while for a pizza or fondue. Every Wednesday, we have a uniform day. Someone in the team decides what outfit we should wear - e.g. striped shirt. It is important to show just how much you appreciate your team. They feel valued and this brings out the best in them in their jobs.

What’s the funniest story you can tell us about working in your job?

“Oh..where do I start”. There are a lot of funny stories that I can tell you. I had someone telling me that he had coffee and cakes with the settlor of a trust. But I had a death certificate of this settlor in my hand. I therefore asked the private banker if he was on the film “Sixth Sense” with Bruce Willis - because he sees dead people as well.

Another humorous story was a beneficiary of a domiciliary company whose family name was missing on the Form A. The only thing written on it was “Mindy”. After much discussion, I found out that Mindy was a cat!

All in all, CBvE is a great bank to work for!