Introducing our very
own Raboband
International
The Netherlands in
brief
2 Quick Cheque
Service
4 Annual results
1987
5 Interview with
Henk Visser
6 The London
Branch
8 New'Stijl'
campaign
From the editorial
staff
Rabobank's Quick
Cheque Service
Staff communication magazine
for the Rabobank Group
The Netherlands, which is
the home-country of Rabo
bank, is a small but densely
populated and highly devel-
oped country situated on the
North Sea and containing the
estuaries of three major rivers,
the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt.
Consequently, it has come to
seek its livelihood mainly in
shipping, commerce and tran
sit trade, the latter comprising
the transport of goods to
countries lying further inland.
The surface area is 41,548
square kilometres and the
country has almost 15 million
inhabitants. 4,243 square kilo
metres (1658 square miles)
are uninhabitable as they are
covered by rivers, canals and
lakes. This means there is an
average of over 425 people to
ach square kilometre, the
most densely populated area
being the 'Randstad' conurba-
tion in the west of the country,
which comprises Amsterdam,
The Hague, Rotterdam and
Utrecht, lts situation on the
North Sea in the vicinity of the
warm guif stream gives the
country a temperate maritime
climate, with average tempera-
tures of 1,7°C in January and
17°C in Juiy. The total precipi-
tation of over 700 mm is
spread fairly evenly throughout
the year.
AMSTERDAM
THE HAGUE
UTRECHT
TTER
ROTTERDAM
EINDHOVEN
Issue 1/April 7,1988
Herman Wijffels
The Netherlands is a constitu-
tional monarchy with a parlia-
mentary system. The Head of
State is Queen Beatrix. The
Royal House is the House of
Orange, which has been con-
nected with the Netherlands
since the sixteenth century.
The founder of the House was
Prince William of Orange
(1533-1584). The present
Head of State, Queen Beatrix,
is married to Prince Claus von
Amsberg. They have three
sons. The seat of the govern-
continued on page 2
Now that both the offices
and staff working beyond the
Dutch borders are increasing
in number, the time has come
to add a new element to our
means of communication. I
hereby proudly present the
first edition of Raboband Inter
national, the English language
issue of the Group's staff com
munication magazine that is
distributed among the employ
ees of both Rabobank Neder
land and its member banks in
the Netherlands.
The Rabobank Group's interna
tional operations are primarily
aimed at supporting the busi
ness interests of its members
and customers in the Nether
lands. In this, a major part is
played by the employees of
the foreign-based offices. To-
gether with those working in
the International Division, they
are responsible for giving
shape to our Group's policy.
Through this magazine, we
want to keep you informed of
things worth knowing about
the organization you are work
ing for, its activities and its
people. I hope that Raboband,
which stands for 'Rabobank
link or tie', may serve to
strengthen your ties with Rabo
bank in the Netherlands.
Herman Wijffels, chairman of
the Executive Board.
You are now reading the
first issue of Raboband Interna
tional, the English language
edition of Raboband, the Rabo
bank Group's staff communica
tion magazine in the Nether
lands.
The magazine aims at
strengthening the bonds
among its readers. It sets out
to give as much information
as possible in order to draw
its readers more closely to-
gether, to make them aware
that we all work within one
and the same organization.
The Dutch edition has a circu-
lation of 33,000, while the
English edition has a circula-
tion of no less than 33,500
copies. This means that every
Rabobank employee, any-
where in the world, receives a
copy of Raboband Internatio
nal. If you have any hints to
give, comments to make or
letters of general interest,
please get in touch with the
correspondent of your office
or with the editorial staff in
the Netherlands.
Since 1983 Rabobank has
offered its exporting clierrts a
unique cheque collection ser
vice, enabling them to save con-
siderably on collection time of
cheques originating from the
USA, West Germany and the UK.
The first Quick Cheque Service,
as it is called, was developed
in cooperation with the New
York branch, specifically for our
Dutch clients exporting to the
United States. Under the Quick
Cheque Service USA the collec
tion of cheques is accelerated
by at least two weeks: Ameri
can importers no longer send
their cheques to their suppliers
in the Netherlands, but in-
stead, the cheques are sent di-
continued on page 2
