- Heiki van den Hoven
- Regional Head of Transaction Services, Central and Eastern Europe, ING
Heiki van den Hoven, ING’s Regional Head of Transaction Services for Central and Eastern Europe, shares how her perspective on the region has evolved, her experience of what she has seen on the ground and explains why CEE has a dynamic role to play in Europe’s growth story.
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is a vital consideration for businesses when drawing up their strategies for production and growth in Europe. Decisions that were once made elsewhere on the continent are now influenced by CEE, especially as its GDP growth now significantly outpaces that of Western Europe.
The region spans a broad and diverse stretch of the continent – we define it as stretching from Austria across to Turkey and Ukraine. From the outside, that breadth can feel fragmented and difficult to navigate: different currencies, regulatory frameworks, payment infrastructures, tax regimes, and business cultures can make the region feel less like one market and more like a collection of distinct local environments.
Moreover, I see people in Western Europe are often less familiar with the region, its dynamics, and its history.
I was born in South Korea, grew up in the Netherlands, and have worked internationally. Cultural differences have always intrigued me. I have been working in the region for the past three years, based in Poland and responsible for transaction services across CEE.
My experience across Western Europe and the Middle East led me to expect a region defined by fragmentation – still developing, with markets operating largely independently.
Dynamic, influential and crucial
But this perspective started to shift once I spent more time in the region, working with clients and our teams. I became aware of a vibrant and rapidly evolving region, rich in opportunities, relevance, and expertise. I encountered clients operating across CEE with integrated, cross-border set-ups and ready to keep up with the growth pace of the region.
I am impressed by the skill set and capabilities of the people: well educated, ambitious, and eager to learn and adapt.
Today, I see CEE as a dynamic and increasingly influential part of Europe. It plays a crucial role in how companies organise production, their ecosystems, and support long-term expansion.
Growth supported by strong fundamentals
The CEE region shows consistently strong GDP growth, significantly higher than in Western Europe, and it is expected to grow faster than the Eurozone – around 2.5-2.8% as opposed to 0.8 % in Western Europe throughout the remainder of 2026.
Foreign investment continues to flow into the region. Countries including Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia consistently show foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the 2-4% of GDP range, indicating sustained external investment interest.
Nearshoring is a powerful driver, particularly in industries such as automotive, manufacturing and logistics, where companies are relocating production and expanding regional hubs.
Key strategic sectors – including defence, energy, and infrastructure – are also supporting this momentum and reinforcing the region’s role in European and global production networks.
As a result, CEE has moved from a mainly (cost-driven) production base to a strategic, multifunctional hub, showing growth in services (SSCs and business process outsourcing) and R&D/innovation/technology, giving opportunities for European, Asian and US corporates.
All of this reinforces the fact that CEE is a major contributor to Europe’s growth story and its importance continues to rise.
Indeed, CEE is no longer just supporting European growth; it is helping to shape where and how that growth occurs.
Complexity no longer a barrier
As companies expand across the region, treasury becomes more central as to how that growth is supported.
While some complexity, or should I say unfamiliarity may exist compared with Western Europe, working with clients across CEE I see that treasury priorities remain the same: growing demand for visibility, consistency and control across payments, collections, liquidity, and trade. Treasury has an increasingly important role to play in helping companies navigate the region and support growth.
A company building up activities across Poland, Hungary, and Romania, for example, needs to handle different regulatory environments, local payment schemes and clearing access, and manage liquidity across currencies to maintain a clear real-time view of cash positions. These are interconnected treasury questions, and they call for a co-ordinated approach across markets.
For many clients, the challenge is not the presence of complexity itself, but how fragmented that complexity can become without the right set-up. These are very real, day-to-day challenges for companies operating in the region, but also solvable ones.
In that sense, complexity is no longer a barrier, but a factor that can be navigated effectively with the right structures and expertise in place that support local requirements while also creating transparency and control at regional level.
Regional co-ordination creates real value
This is where treasury can make a real difference. Co-ordinated CEE execution unlocks incremental value beyond the country-by-country baseline.
Companies are best supported when they approach CEE as an interconnected region. That regional tactic, supported by strong local teams, can make a meaningful difference to how companies manage their operations and scale their business.
A regional view creates a stronger foundation for managing payments, liquidity, and working capital in a consistent way, while still recognising the specific requirements of each local market.
This is where ING supports clients – combining local expertise in each market with regional co-ordination and global connectivity. This enables them to manage the operational backbone of their business – its payments and collections –as a one-stop shop. The goal is simple: to help clients move from fragmented set-ups to a more integrated view of cash, payments, and liquidity across markets.
When this is set up correctly, it becomes a real enabler for growth rather than a constraint.
That calls for a combination of the right local expertise, regional co-ordination, and global connectivity. It may involve centralising liquidity structures while maintaining access to local clearing, or aligning payment processes across countries in a way that strengthens efficiency and keeps businesses close to the realities of each market.
I’ve seen how valuable that can be, with a more co-ordinated regional model bringing stronger visibility, greater control, and a more scalable platform for growth. Treasury helps join the dots across markets, creating tangible value for businesses operating across CEE.
Momentum, investment, and industrial strength
For companies with European ambitions, CEE is becoming an increasingly important element of the picture. As a region, it is dynamic, vibrant, and opportunity-rich for corporates.
To fully leverage that growth, companies should aim for consistency across markets, connecting local set-ups to a broader regional and global framework.
Treasury has a key role in making that growth connected, controlled, and sustainable.
I have discovered that this is a region of momentum, investment, and industrial strength.
And I have also found that CEE consistently challenges initial assumptions, and rewards those who take the time to understand it.
