Mizuho Bank Europe Annual Report 2018

26 MIZUHO BANK EUROPE N.V. Detailed description of individual risk management items is set out in section 5.9 (Risk Management) of this Annual Report. 3.6 Compliance Effective corporate governance in accordance with high international standards is and has always been one of our primary objectives. Our system of corporate governance provides the basis for responsible management and control of MBE, with a focus on long-term, sustainable value creation. It has four key elements: good relations with all stakeholders, effective cooperation between the Management Board and the Supervisory Board, a performance- based compensation system with a sustainable and long-term focus, as well as transparent, effective and timely reporting. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mizuho Bank, we operate under our own banking license issued by the Dutch Central Bank. Therefore, we implement these elements in accordance with national and international laws and regulations applicable in the Netherlands. We acknowledge that compliance is an on-going process, which is why our policies and systems are under constant review. In line with the increased regulatory focus on integrity and financial crime, MBE’s KnowYour Customer (‘KYC’) system was further enhanced to better capture integrity risk. Additionally, our Transaction Monitoring systems and procedures are under review to ensure we do not facilitate any money-laundering or other transactions that are illegal or unacceptable from an ethical point of view. Banker’s Oath Effective 1 April 2015, the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht, Wft) requires that banks with a registered office in the Netherlands ensure that their employees take the Banker’s Oath within three months of employment. The Banker’s Oath was introduced to help restore society’s trust in the financial industry. Its initial scope was extended to cover not only Management Board and Supervisory Board members (the “first echelon”), but also all employees of the bank. MBE highly supports the purposes served by and underlying principles of the Banker’s Oath, which are fully in line with the Mizuho values. All new employees in 2018 have taken the Banker’s Oath within three months of the start of their new positions. After signing the Banker’s Oath, employees are invited to put their signatures on a mirror, which is centrally located in the bank and serves as a reminder for everyone to continue to embed the rules of conduct in their day-to-day business. 3.7 Remuneration Unemployment within the EU further decreased in 2018. For The Netherlands the availability of Dutch national highly skilled professionals decreased as well, but the availability of international highly skilled workers significantly increased due to Brexit. The uncertainty of Brexit creates positive impact for the Dutch, German and French labour market as many highly skilled professional choose to relocate to these countries over the UK. In addition an increased number of Non-British high potentials living in UK return to their home-countries in Continental Europe. Finding specific professionals remains a challenge in the current market, but the situation significantly changed for the better compared to 2017. The effect of the current market is that we have seen employers increasing their benefit packages significantly to retain and attract new professionals. This includes the financial elements, but also elements such as training, working from home and other non-financial benefits. MBE currently provides market level packages to its employees. To retain and attract suitable employees MBE has invested a lot in its corporate culture in recent years. This has been successful as our retention ratio of our key-valuable-employees is relatively higher compared to other foreign banks. We don’t follow a strategy of providing market outlying financial packages, but a sustainable strategy of providing a great place to work, inclusion and perspective to grow as a professional. MBE has engaged with a strategy of being aware what the key-elements are for growth and dares to drive tangible actions to pursuit our vision and