Rabobank
Nederland
London Branch
Rabo
band
Rabobank Nederland has had a presence in the City of London since
1 November 1982, when Henk Gentis, currently General Manager,
and Cora Gelbstein, currently Assistant Manager Commercial
Banking, started the Representative Office. After a brief spell in the
London and Continental Bankers' building the 'rep office' was
moved to Gresham Street. The London branch opened for business
at its present premises, 63 Mark Lane, on 1 October 1985.
The current organization
consists of:
Issue 1/April 7, 1988
the world. It is an important member of
the EEC and its universities and labora-
tories are in the forefront of emerging horti-
cultural and animal-related technologies.
For all these reasons, our Bank considered
it important to have a presence in the UK
and our branch was opened with four main
commercial objectives. These were to devel-
op worthwhile relationships with companies
in the areas of: Rabobank-reiated cus-
tomers and Anglo-Dutch companies in gen-
eral; Agribusiness; General corporate and
Agri-commodities. As the branch has devel-
oped and the number of customers has in-
creased, we have reorganized these separ
ate sectors to bring together the specific
expertise of the various account managers
with the purpose of offering our customers
the best possible service.
Corporate Banking Department
The Corporate Banking Department
markets the branch's services to large
companies (with a turnover of more than
250,000,000) in the UK and Ireland.
The account managers in this-department
are familiar with the specific financial
needs of large corporations and are there-
fore able to approach the treasurers of
these corporations with creative and flexi-
ble answers to their funding requirements.
The size of the facilities extended to these
companies frequently goes beyond the
lending limits of one single bank and open
syndication and club deals are quite com-
mon in this market segment. The Corpora
te Banking Department therefore main-
Henk Gentis, General Manager of our London
Branch.
Banking services
One of the prime reasons for open
ing the London Branch, was to
further the interests of the Rabo
bank Group and its customers in the
United Kingdom, a country which has had clo
se links with the Netherlands over several
centuries and which provides an important
market for Dutch exporters. Additionally,
many Dutch companies and individuals are
located in the UK. London is one of the
world's premier financial and commodity
trading centres; the UK in general, after a
decline in the fifties and sixties, is now
one of the fastest growing economies in
Our London Branch.
tains close contact with a number of other
commercial and merchant banks in the City.
The personnel consists of: Michael Barker,
Head of Department; Pamela Green and
Dean Clark, Account Managers; Mary
Parsons, Head of Credit Analysis; Anne
Daniël, Loans Administration/Assistant Cre
dit Analyst; Heather Armstrong and Paulien
Ruys, secretaries.
Anglo-Dutch Corporate Banking
Department
The task of the Anglo-Dutch Corporate
Banking Department is to offer a range of
services to Dutch companies involved in
imports and exports between the UK and
the Netherlands. These clients can be
companies in the Netherlands or subsidia-
ries or branches of Dutch companies oper-
ating in the UK. The companies are mainly
customers of Rabobank Nederland and
consequently are medium-large to lar
companies. The department offers ass.
ance in market research and gives advice
on numerous subjects to both Dutch cus
tomers and English companies with an in
terest in the Netherlands. In this respect
Anglo-Dutch Corporate Banking overlaps
with the activities of Dutch Desk. The per
sonnel consists of André Bar, Senior Ma
nager, and his personal assistant Riet Vis
ser, who also acts as secretary to Henk
Gentis, the General Manager. In their
tasks they are assisted in particular by the
credit analyst and other staff of the Com
mercial Banking Department.
And last, but certainly not least;
Commercial Banking Department
The rationale behind the formation of
the Commercial Banking Department was
to utilize the knowledge of our Dutch Desk
and commodities management in retail
banking and international trade so that we
can offer our customers a wide variety of
experience and expertise. The clientele
covered by the department are effectively
the small to medium-sized corporations
and the international traders. Specifically,
the department offers services as follows:
