NETHERLANDS - The Dutch painters industry pension fund has appointed Credit Suisse Benelux with a €45m private equity mandate, the bank announced today.

The fund, Stichting Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor het Schilders-, Afwerkings- en Glaszetbedrijf, selected Credit Suisse via its asset managers A&O, the firm said.

"Given the strength of Credit Suisse's alternative programme they are a logical choice," A&O's deputy head of investment Arjan Vermaire explained.

Though the firm will manage the mandate from its private equity business in New York, Credit Suisse said it is also further expanding its Benelux operations, particularly to drive a further push into the Dutch market.

To this end, Olof Könst has been appointed as the bank's new vice president of institutional clients in the Benelux. It is an expansion of the team a spokesperson said.

"We decided we needed to be closer to our institutional clients and show real commitment to the Benelux markets," Jolanda Groot of the bank's Amsterdam office said.

Könst, previously assistant director Dutch institutions at Vanguard Investments Europe, will be based in Amsterdam.

Topics