Which bank chief dressed in drag to talk up 'brothel values' to staff?

WHICH bank boss rallied his troops by dressing up as a madam and compared his embattled institution to a brothel?

THE boss of nationalised Dutch bank ABN Amro has dressed up in drag as a brothel owner for his annual speech to employees, calling for them to apply his "values".

Former finance minister Gerrit Zalm dressed up as his "sister" Priscilla in a blue silk evening dress, brown wig, glasses and golden gloves for the bank's annual cabaret earlier this month.

"You have to start with three core values: trust, expertise and ambition," she told an audience of around 7000 ABN Amro employees, explaining the parallels between the banking and prostitution businesses.

"We offer a warm welcome, we're experienced and, most of all, we always satisfy the customer."

You must have a good "front office", Zalm said, showing off his ample bosom, "and I'm also told that I have a magnificent back office!"

"You must take young talent and train them. And women must also be able to reach the highest positions. In our business, the woman is indeed very often on top!" Priscilla told the audience of laughing bankers.

ABN Amro is the country's third bank, after ING and Rabobank. It was nationalised in 2008 during the financial crisis and Zalm has been at its head since 2009.

The bank will not be providing a translation of Zalm's speech because it's "very Dutch humour in the tradition of Dutch cabaret," an ABN Amro spokesman said. But the bank posted a video of the speech on its YouTube channel.

Priscilla concluded her speech with some advice for her colleagues.

"Treat customers honestly, manage risks responsibly, be transparent, don't let bonuses be too big and most of all, the customer is key!" she said.

"We've been doing it for centuries, you can do it too!" she said to thundering applause.