Is Your Bank Ready to Finance a Sector That Reinvents Itself Every Two Years? — Ashna Lalla, ING

Ashna Lalla’s career has carried her from South Africa to the Netherlands and from generalist banking roles into a highly specialised position at the frontier of digital infrastructure finance. She began in banking after internships on the trading floor and in investment banking convinced her that structuring long-term deals was where she belonged. 

Following spells in a development finance institution and a telecoms company, she moved to ING three and a half years ago, first in loan syndications focused on project finance, and now within the sector team covering technology, media and telecoms. Her focus spans data centres, GPU-as-a-service financing and satellites, working out how the bank can encourage growth while walking alongside clients as they build entirely new categories of business. 

Her philosophy blends curiosity, agility and a firm belief that no job is beyond reach for anyone willing to learn.

What is the biggest challenge leaders in finance face today?

Ashna explains why the technical depth and novelty of the sector make decisive financing so difficult.

“I think it’s understanding the sector, because it is a very technical space. As a banker, you are not usually that deep in the detail, but here you have to get into the detail. It is not just those of us speaking directly to the client, but also credit teams understanding what the actual risks are, because so much is new.

You cannot easily predict how the cash flows of a business might behave, how a project might turn out, or how the sector will transpire. We have seen this before. A lot of gigafactories in Europe were the next big thing, and then over a short space of time many of them barely got off the ground.

So the tricky part is trying to be decisive, because you want to be a leader in the financing, but you have to work out which are the right projects to support and where to invest. Data centres have been a proven case with hyperscalers, but now you are getting new AI data centres, and that is still a bit of a black box to a lot of bankers.”

How is technology reshaping financing?

Ashna reflects on neoclouds and the difficulty of assessing businesses without long track records.

“Technology itself is getting a little ahead of itself. Look at what we can do on our phones now. Using something like Claude, you can build a model in seconds that would have taken three days before. It is a very fast-paced environment, and the real problem is keeping up with the pace of change.

One of the trends we are seeing in financing is the rise of neocloud offtakers. Neoclouds are the new, upcoming businesses, and as bankers we are trying to really understand their mechanics and how far we can trust them. Historically, data centres were backed by hyperscalers like Microsoft, with very strong ratings. Neoclouds are new, without a long history of cash flows, so it is difficult to understand how they will perform going forward.

What happens if another disruptive technology arrives in the next two or three years? Alongside that, GPU-as-a-service and cloud GPU have become the buzzwords. For us, understanding the sector really well and educating others within the bank is how we play a leading role in the financing.”

What mistakes do you see when companies try to secure financing?

Ashna frames the current environment less as error and more as a shared learning curve for underwriting banks.

“In this space you tend to see large financings that are underwritten by a few banks. A company might underwrite with five or six banks, and those banks are then responsible for negotiating all the terms and conditions of the loan. Sometimes those underwriting banks take a more aggressive view than the wider market can accept.

I would not necessarily call it a mistake, but a learning curve. You learn through these deals how to structure better and how to preempt what other lenders will accept, because once you syndicate the loan you are selling it down to other banks who also have to be comfortable with the terms.

So it is about finding the balance between what the client wants, flexible and cheaper financing, and what the banks taking on the risk can accept, that it is fairly priced with enough structural mitigants in place. You cannot simply apply the old methodologies from the last ten to fifteen years, because things are changing very quickly.”

How do you see the industry evolving over the next 3 to 5 years?

Ashna points to sustainability and power as defining forces in the future of digital infrastructure finance.

“Sustainability is one of the biggest trends. With data centres, power is one of the largest constraints, because you need access to the grid, and globally there is already too much demand on the grids. Building a large data centre only adds to that demand.

You see a lot of the new data centres being built towards green energy, solar power and alternative sources. Because these are such power-intensive buildings, some of the newer companies are trying to be more innovative about how they recycle power or create a more closed, circular economy.

Going forward, sustainability will be a big one, because with anything new the long-term impact is uncertain. People are talking about data centres in space, which is good for the environment in the sense that you avoid large buildings on land, but what are the other long-term effects? I think you are going to see a lot more scrutiny there, because companies and countries are far more focused on preserving the environment as we see the effects of climate change.”

How do you approach mentoring people navigating cross-border or cross-sector careers?

Ashna shares the questions she encourages people to ask when standing at a career crossroads.

“There are a few things I always try to think about. First, do not focus on what you have done or studied, but on what you have enjoyed in your experience. If you are at a career crossroads without a clear path, think about the characteristics of the jobs you enjoyed. Was it talking to people, or evaluating credit? That helps you form a view.

Then think about where you want to be in life. It is not necessarily about creating a five- or ten-year plan, because life is constantly changing. Instead, ask what your next job will do for the job after it. What is the next platform, and how will it bridge your skills towards where you want to land? Identify what you enjoy, what you want to keep building on, and where your gaps are.

Cross-border moves are not just about career. Moving country affects your social life and everything else, so think about your non-negotiables. For me, coming from South Africa, safety as a woman was one. Here in the Netherlands I feel so safe that I can walk home at eleven at night. The other reason is that in Africa you often see the tail end of trends, so I wanted to get closer to seeing them firsthand, because one day I want to be an advisor to people in Africa.”

What skills are critical for the next generation of finance leaders?

Ashna makes the case that relationship management and communication matter as much as technical skill.

“People always laugh when I say my view of banking is relationship management, but it honestly is. There are multiple stakeholders. You have your clients, your internal stakeholders, and as a company you still have to manage your return on equity. You are balancing a lot, and you need to be able to manage those relationships and communicate.

Communication is really important, because walking alongside people and taking them with you matters. For upcoming leaders, my advice is to be hungry and keep learning, because this is a very exciting and rapidly changing space. When I started in TMT coverage fourteen years ago, things moved far more slowly. Now technology and telecoms are changing much faster and integrating into areas like fintech.

Be agile, keep learning, and do not get too attached to an idea, because things change often. When you speak to more people, you get different opinions and insights, and sometimes you may be so convinced of your own view that you miss another path. Speaking to more people makes you better all round, in how you evaluate financing and how you manage relationships.”

What is one question every leader in finance should be asking themselves?

Ashna closes on the tension between heavy regulation and the need to keep innovating.

“There are so many, because finance is such a regulated industry. But I think it comes down to how you do your best within the constraints you have. We mentioned ESG, where there is a lot of regulation, and you also want to be a good citizen and ensure the world is there for future generations.

Banking is so regulated, so how do you optimise and be your best, doing the best types of financing within those confines? It is about asking that of yourself rather than simply copying and pasting, and instead trying to be a little more innovative. I think that is probably what leaders in finance need to be thinking about.”

Join the Conversation: The Ortus Club’s Executive Network

As Ashna’s perspective shows, financing the world’s digital infrastructure cannot be done from behind a desk with yesterday’s models. Neoclouds, AI data centres, sustainability pressures and shifting power demands are reshaping structured finance faster than any single institution can track alone.

The most effective finance leaders treat peer dialogue as a strategic necessity, comparing how others assess new risks, structure syndicated deals and future-proof their portfolios. Relationship management, agility and continuous learning are not soft extras; they are the core of staying relevant in a market that reinvents itself every couple of years.

At The Ortus Club, we host curated executive roundtables that bring together senior leaders facing exactly these challenges. Step beyond the hype of digital transformation and engage in the kind of open, high-value conversations that connect global strategy with real-world execution.

FAQs

Q: What is a neocloud?

A: A neocloud is a new, emerging cloud infrastructure business that provides computing capacity, often for AI workloads. Unlike established hyperscalers, neoclouds lack long trading histories and strong credit ratings, which makes assessing their creditworthiness more challenging for lenders.

Q: Why is AI increasing demand for data centre financing?

A: AI workloads require significant computing power, driving demand for new data centres and GPU-as-a-service offerings. This creates large financing needs, but also uncertainty, as these AI-focused facilities lack the proven track record of traditional hyperscaler data centres.

Q: How does sustainability affect data centre financing?

A: Data centres are highly power-intensive and depend on grid access, which is already under strain globally. Financing increasingly considers green energy sources, power recycling and long-term environmental impact, making sustainability a structural factor rather than an optional extra.

Q: What is loan syndication in project finance?

A: Loan syndication involves a small group of underwriting banks negotiating the terms of a large loan and then selling portions down to other banks. Each participating bank must be comfortable with the pricing and structural protections before taking on a share of the risk.

Q: How should professionals approach a cross-border career move?

A: Focus on the characteristics of past roles you have enjoyed, identify your skills gaps, and treat each role as a platform for the next rather than fixing on a rigid long-term plan. Also weigh personal non-negotiables such as safety and lifestyle, since relocation affects far more than your career.