Bank Fronted Surety - Issues and Considerations

Requests for bank fronted surety solutions are increasing considerably. Join Robert Duke, Surety Counsel for Markel Surety and Thyson Steentjes, Director, Transaction Banking Financial Institutions for ANZ Bank, as they discuss the issues, considerations, mechanics and the state of play regarding this new and unique product, which requires an intentional and careful approach.

Robert J. Duke

Vice President and Legal Counsel

Markel Surety

Robert J. Duke is Vice President and Legal Counsel for Markel Surety. Prior to joining Markel, Rob was Surety Legal Counsel for Euler Hermes North America. Previously, he was General Counsel for The Surety & Fidelity Association of America, the industry trade association for insurance companies that write surety bonds.

Mr. Duke was in the surety and fidelity industry as a company underwriter and broker for 8 years before joining SFAA in 1999. Mr. Duke spent two years working in private law practice.

He has authored several articles on surety and fidelity topics.

Mr. Duke graduated with a J.D. summa cum laude and first in class from Columbus School of Law, Catholic University in 2005. He graduated summa cum laude from Loyola College of Maryland in 1988 with a Bachelors in Business Administration and obtained a Masters in Business Administration from Loyola College in 1992.

Thyson Steentjes

Director, Transaction Banking

ANZ Bank, New York, NY

Thyson heads the Transaction Banking function for Financial Institutions at ANZ in North America. Specialising in complex Trade & Supply Chain and Payments & Cash Management solutions Thyson’s role is to support efficient working capital and Treasury management functions for ANZ’s FI clients. This extends to both Bank and non-Bank FIs and in the last 4 years has seen an increasing emphasis on Bank fronting for Sureties.

Originally from New Zealand where he joined ANZ in 2007 as a Graduate, he has held a variety of roles across the organisation including Product Management, Business Project Management, Digital Channels and FI Trade & Cash Management – which has been his focus for the past 7 years.

Thyson has a keen interest in technology and innovation around payments and banking more generally. Prior to moving to the USA in 2021 he represented ANZ on the Board of WealthTech New Zealand and at other industry level forums.

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