Iffl
The Central Banking Sector,
Rabobank Nederland's
wholesale bank
Rabo
band Issue 6/April 6, 1990
The organizational structure of Rabobank Nederland was updated
at the start of this year. The Central Banking Sector (CBS) - in
Dutch the 'Centrale Bank Bedrijf', often abbreviated to CBB -
occupies an important position in this. The Central Banking
Sector has a staff of about 1,400, half of whom work in Utrecht
and the others in the offices abroad. The International Division is
part of the CBS.
Foreign business support
centre for member banks
Objectives of the Central
Banking Sector
In the past few years the Central Bank
ing Sector has expanded into a fully-
fledged wholesale banking business
operating on the professional markets in
the Netherlands and abroad. In addition to
its foreign business, this Rabobank Neder
land banking operation concentrates on the
large companies in the Netherlands and the
professional money and capital market. To
enable it to do that, it now consists of four
divisions.
Basic principles Some twenty years
ago, two banking activities constituted the
basis for the Central Banking Sector. The
first was managing the organization's liquid
assets. The second related to managing
customers from the major agricultural coop-
eratives in the Netherlands. After that time,
there was a sharp increase in competition,
aimed at the agricultural industry. In addi
tion, the experience and knowledge acquir-
ed in that field was also used to win cus
tomers in other sectors of Dutch business
and industry as well. At that time, the ser
vice changed in nature, expanding from an
activity based on credit granting into ac
count management with a wide range of ser
vices. Merchant banking and electronic
banking facilities were introduced.
Changes In the Netherlands, it has
been difficult to attract savings during the
past ten years. The price of these funds
rose sharply because of the strong compe
tition. As a result, the Rabobank Group be-
came increasingly dependent on acquiring
funds on the professional money and capi
tal markets. That was the reason for setting
up a professional organization for this pur-
pose. Yet another development stimulated
the formation of the Central Banking Sector
as it looks today: customers of the local
banks and of Rabobank Nederland increas
ingly started doing business with compa
nies abroad. If Rabobank did not gear its
To be a successful, profitable inter
national wholesale bank
To be a global agribusiness bank
To acquire additional funds for the
organization as a whole
services to this new development, this
would involve the risk of customers choos-
ing a different bank for international activi
ties. The basic idea 'Foreign banking
services in support of domestic customers'
indicates that Rabobank is serious in its in-
tentions to help its Dutch customers with
banking services also in their activities
aimed at countries abroad. For that reason,
a network now comprising 30 foreign-based
offices has been set up. In addition, much
energy has gone into the development of a
range of international services.
The Central Banking Sector's tasks also
include operations on the international
money and capital market. Fiere, it endeav-
ours to achieve active and profitable man
agement of the local Rabobanks' liquid as-
sets. Management of and trading in foreign
currency is also concentrated in the Central
Banking Sector for the Rabobank Group as
a whole. Rabobank has meanwhile become
a recognized party on the international
foreign exchange markets. A number of
forms of service are carried out under the
common denominator of merchant banking,
such as acting as an intermediary in
mergers and takeovers, participating in the
issuing business and managing the ac
counts of institutional customers. By con-
tracting these professional services out to
the Central Banking Sector, the local Rabo
banks are able to continue providing services
to their members in medium-sized and small
businesses and to private customers.
Central Banking Sector Management
Flenk Visser
Frans Boons (until 1-6-1990)
Corporate
Customers
Division
Vacancy
Money and Capital
Markets Division
Joop Adolfse (until 1-6-1990)
Wim van den Goorbergh
CBS Operations
Division
Jac. Verhaegen
International
Division
Rik Baron
van Slingelandt
