22 June – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network Lovells is boosting its Dutch and international banking practice with the hire of the former head of Houthoff Buruma’s finance practice, Matthieu van Sint Truiden. Matthieu will join the firm, based in Amsterdam, at the end of this month. He will be a dedicated banking partner in Amsterdam, working alongside Ken Breken who joined the firm from Clifford Chance in December 2002.
Matthieu van Sint Truiden has been a partner and head of the finance practice at Houthoff Buruma, the second largest independent firm in the Netherlands, since August 2002. Previously he was a banking and finance partner at NautaDutilh in Amsterdam and New York. While at NautaDutilh Matthieu worked, inter alia, on the merger between ABN and Amro Bank in the early 1990s and subsequently spent a year and a half on secondment with ABN AMRO. Matthieu also worked on the assumption by Deutsche Bank AG of the Dutch banking business of Deutsche’s main Dutch subsidiary.
Matthieu’s practice has a primary focus on banking and finance transactions, and cross-border corporate and financial restructuring, including insolvencies. Matthieu also has extensive experience in the German market and is an active member of several German-Dutch and German business and legal organisations. He is the chairman of a legal committee advising on proposed legislation, and a prolific author of legal books and articles in the area of banking, insolvency and corporate matters.
Matthieu joins the banking and finance practice in Amsterdam, which embraces all types of financing, securitisation and PPP, as well as the banking aspects of business restructuring and insolvency and project finance/structured finance. The practice acts for, among others, banks, insurance companies, other financial institutions and corporate clients, including its domestic clients Fortis, ING, ABN AMRO, Rabo and the Amsterdam branch of Bank of Scotland.
The expansion of the Amsterdam banking and finance practice comes at a time when the Dutch market is developing greater specialisation. There are now, for example, active structured lending and LBO markets and a well developed securitisation market. Most significantly, the new PPP market is expected to develop rapidly and create further opportunities for banking and project finance related work.
Commenting on Matthieu’s arrival, Ken Breken, head of the banking and finance practice in Amsterdam, said:
“I have known Matthieu for more than fifteen years since we worked together as advocates in Amsterdam. Knowing Matthieu’s strengths as a banking and finance lawyer and as a strong marketer I am sure we will further develop a dynamic practice able to offer the very best legal services to Netherlands-based clients and the clients of Lovells internationally.”
Matthieu van Sint Truiden said:
“Having worked for two of the major players in the Dutch market I relish the prospect of working for a truly international law firm such as Lovells. The firm’s international reach coupled with the strength of existing relationships in the local market, such as the ING panel membership, was a big influence in me deciding to join the firm. I look forward to working with Ken to further strengthen the Dutch banking and finance practice at Lovells.”
