In Memoriam: Godfried van der Lugt, 83
CEO of Nederlandse Credietbank, Acquired by Chase in 1984

Chase Manhattan first bought a 17.5 percent stake in NCB in 1967.
After van der Lugt's death, ING issued the following statement:
"Godfried van der Lugt joined ING’s predecessor Postbank after a career at banks in Germany, Switzerland and the UK and a position as CEO of the Nederlandse Credietbank. In 1986 he was appointed chairman of the Executive Board of the Postbank, which had just been privatised. As chairman, he oversaw the merger of Postbank with the Dutch NMB in 1989. Two years later, he played a critical role in merging the newly-created NMB Postbank Group with insurer Nationale-Nederlanden to become Internationale Nederlanden Group, or ING, as we are known today.
"Godfried was appointed ING’s fourth CEO in 1998. After stepping down from this role in 2001, he joined the Supervisory Board where he was a member until 2011.
"As CEO, Godfried led ING through good and difficult times, including the Asian and Russian financial crises of the late ‘90s. With his extensive experience in the financial industry, he was a renowned and well-respected banker locally and internationally. He stimulated ING’s expansion through several acquisitions of banks and insurance companies, including Belgian bank BBL, US insurer Equitable of Iowa, Germany’s BHF Bank and our participation in Allgemeine Deutsche Direktbank (DiBa), which was the country’s leading direct bank at the time.
"Godfried realized the importance of effective distribution for financial services and how the rapid emergence of new technologies was fundamentally changing that. Building on Postbank’s expertise in mail and telephone banking, he stimulated the further development of direct banking and worldwide expansion of ING Direct, combining bank and insurance products.
"ING has greatly benefited from his expertise. In addition to being an experienced banker, he was a strong leader and skilled communicator, not only with an eye for balancing the interests of all stakeholders but also with an eye for design. He was personally involved in creating ING’s well-known lion logo."
"Godfried was appointed ING’s fourth CEO in 1998. After stepping down from this role in 2001, he joined the Supervisory Board where he was a member until 2011.
"As CEO, Godfried led ING through good and difficult times, including the Asian and Russian financial crises of the late ‘90s. With his extensive experience in the financial industry, he was a renowned and well-respected banker locally and internationally. He stimulated ING’s expansion through several acquisitions of banks and insurance companies, including Belgian bank BBL, US insurer Equitable of Iowa, Germany’s BHF Bank and our participation in Allgemeine Deutsche Direktbank (DiBa), which was the country’s leading direct bank at the time.
"Godfried realized the importance of effective distribution for financial services and how the rapid emergence of new technologies was fundamentally changing that. Building on Postbank’s expertise in mail and telephone banking, he stimulated the further development of direct banking and worldwide expansion of ING Direct, combining bank and insurance products.
"ING has greatly benefited from his expertise. In addition to being an experienced banker, he was a strong leader and skilled communicator, not only with an eye for balancing the interests of all stakeholders but also with an eye for design. He was personally involved in creating ING’s well-known lion logo."
Van der Lugt's father, Godefridus Wilhelmus Antonius van der Lugt, was president of the Nederlandsche Landbouwbank. His brother, Frans, was a Jesuit priest from the Netherlands who established a community centrer and farm near the city of Homs, Syria, where he worked for the betterment of people with disabilities and for harmony among Christian and Muslim people. He was assassinated in 2014, during the Syrian Civil War.
Remembrances
Please send remembrances to news@chasealum.org
From Yoram Kinberg: I met Godfried when I was the head of strategy for Chase Europe out of London and he became CEO of NCB in the early 1980s, reporting to Bob Hunter, who ran Chase Europe.
NCB was not performing well, and Bob and I spent significant time to develop a strategy for the bank.
Gofried was an impressive executive and I enjoyed our numerous interactions leading to Chase aquiring full control of the bank in 1984.