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COPYRIGHT 2001 National Association of Credit Management
Walter (Buddy) Baker works for ABN AMRO Bank in their Global Trade & Advisory area, which is based in Chicago. He is Head of Product Management for North America and Global Co-Head of Operational Risk Management. A long-standing member of FCIB, Baker also serves on FCIB's Board of Directors.
Baker began his career in international banking in 1977, when he graduated from Yale with a degree in administrative sciences, applied mathematics and statistics. "I approached the job market intent upon entering a field that would provide me with a broad exposure to business. OPEC was having a tremendous impact on business at that time. A lot of banking positions were opening up as banks hurried to establish international capabilities to capture the business of these newly wealthy countries. First National Bank of Louisville recruited me and immediately assigned me to their international banking department because of my background and skills; this set me on a career path that led to many excellent opportunities."
"I started out in a training program for international lending. After six months, I was offered the opportunity to supervise the Letter of Credit Operations, which I eagerly accepted." After three years at First National Bank of Louisville, Baker spent several years with Union Planters' National Bank of Memphis. "Union Planters' business was heavily concentrated in commodity exporting--cotton and grain--and the revenue opportunities were quite high. This enabled us to be very creative in developing new products. While I was there, we developed export document preparation as a service. Most banks...
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