EVP – Sustainability and Transition — Transaction-Banking Franchise

The mandate

The next planning cycle has brought into focus transition commitments that are not yet embedded in capital decisions within a listed regulated universal or specialist bank. The immediate arena is the transaction-banking franchise during a deposit-growth challenge. For mandate 083, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The EVP – Sustainability and Transition operating perimeter covers approximately €70,050 million in loan and deposit book, with activity spanning several transaction-banking franchise customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The EVP – Sustainability and Transition Banking remit carries direct influence over roughly 500 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a EVP – Sustainability and Transition who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the transaction-banking franchise. The EVP – Sustainability and Transition Banking seat must resolve a deposit-growth challenge, while preserving the underlying strengths of the transaction-banking franchise. For mandate 083, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The EVP – Sustainability and Transition’s first year on the transaction-banking franchise is expected to end with credible transition economics, delivery governance and auditable progress. In mandate 083, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created EVP – Sustainability and Transition — Transaction-Banking Franchise seat, established because a deposit-growth challenge now requires one accountable executive rather than distributed ownership. The board has classified the appointment as urgent and intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 6–8 weeks. Interim governance protects the transaction-banking franchise, but it is not a substitute for a permanent appointee. The external search remains confidential to avoid unnecessary disruption before the appointment is agreed.

What you will own

• Set the EVP – Sustainability and Transition value-creation thesis for the transaction-banking franchise, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately €70,050 million in loan and deposit book, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the EVP – Sustainability and Transition Banking organisation of about 500 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the transaction-banking franchise economics and execution constraints created by a deposit-growth challenge, with EVP – Sustainability and Transition-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one EVP – Sustainability and Transition operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the transaction-banking franchise; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Demonstrate enterprise authority across functions and markets, with outcomes visible in cash, customers or controlled risk in mandate 083.
• Build the EVP – Sustainability and Transition’s three-year succession and capability plan for the transaction-banking franchise, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Banking organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the transaction-banking franchise baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to transition commitments that are not yet embedded in capital decisions, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal EVP – Sustainability and Transition portfolio and organisation choices for the transaction-banking franchise, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable transaction-banking franchise trend against credible transition economics, delivery governance and auditable progress, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the EVP – Sustainability and Transition’s agreed first-year transaction-banking franchise value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A EVP – Sustainability and Transition forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the transaction-banking franchise’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the EVP – Sustainability and Transition mandate’s highest-priority transaction-banking franchise risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical transaction-banking franchise talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the EVP – Sustainability and Transition’s direct reports.
• A quantified EVP – Sustainability and Transition-owned improvement in the transaction-banking franchise operating constraint behind a deposit-growth challenge, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 083: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a EVP Sustainability, Transition Director or Strategy Leader in a listed Banking or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the transaction-banking franchise, your EVP – Sustainability and Transition track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this EVP – Sustainability and Transition brief.

As a EVP – Sustainability and Transition candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Banking or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of €40,650 million and led an organisation of at least 350 people.

For mandate 083, the board wants two transitions: a difficult transaction-banking franchise portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a deposit-growth challenge. As the prospective EVP – Sustainability and Transition for this transaction-banking franchise, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 083 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The EVP – Sustainability and Transition must be based in Frankfurt; international relocation is supported, but this Banking role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of EVP Sustainability, Transition Director or Strategy Leader, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Banking governance forum.
• Proven EVP – Sustainability and Transition ownership of at least €40,650 million and leadership of no fewer than 350 employees in a comparable transaction-banking franchise context.
• One completed Banking or adjacent-sector example of transition commitments that are not yet embedded in capital decisions with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech; experience that is purely functional and lacks EVP – Sustainability and Transition-level transaction-banking franchise consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Frankfurt location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 083.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated EVP – Sustainability and Transition package is €250,000–330,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final transaction-banking franchise scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 083 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The EVP – Sustainability and Transition appointment in Frankfurt, centred on the transaction-banking franchise, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 083.

Confidentiality

This search is being conducted without naming the client for mandate 083. Identifying information will follow only when both sides elect to proceed under confidentiality; nothing in the published mandate should be treated as a clue to ownership or brand for mandate 083.