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'Things are going
well abroad'
KiJUU
Agribusiness Advisory
Board met
in South Carolina
also at earning money for the organization
with it', Van Slingelandt assures. The finan-
cial objective runs in parallel with the com
mercial aims. At any rate, we are continuing
to specialize in the agribusiness abroad.
The offices have been given the commercial
scope to develop into profitable units. This
means that from time to time, for instance,
they occasionally finance a car factory instead
of a compound feed factory. Our objective as
an agribusiness bank is that compound feed
factory but you mustn't deprive the offices of
the opportunity to recoup some of their costs
by financing something like that.'
Strong growth The foreign business is
growing at a terrific rate. What does that
mean for the International Division? 'Yes in
deed, things are changingthere', agrees Van
Slingelandt. 'For example, in area manage
ment there has been an important shift from
maintaining correspondent banking relations
to much more commercially established
trade financing activities. The results to date
are extremeiy encouraging. It is an activity
that must contribute to the bank's results.'
Personnel and communication 'At pre
sent, there are already over 800 Rabobank
people working beyond the frontiers of the
Netherlands. Because of the rapid growth,
we actually come up against two problems',
comments Van Slingelandt. 'How do you find
the right people in the Netherlands and how
do you maintain two-way communication. To
get good people, we put a lot into training.
For example, we have just started a training
course for young graduates. But of course it
will be a few years yet before they can really
pull their weight. We actually have a con
stant need for good people. Then communi
cation. In spite of the fact that we have a
perfect telephone system, express mail, fax-
ing and so on communication is still difficult.
The more you grow, the more attention you
have to pay to this. Five years ago it was still
the case that if you spoke regularly to the of
fice manager in New York you knew more or
less what was going on in Rabobank abroad.
Nowadays, you have to telephone and
discuss a lot more... Communication both in
the International Division and also in the
Rabobank Group will get a lot of attention in
the period ahead.'
Issue 7/September 21, 1990 band
managers of the foreign offices together in Utrecht.
The
'In fact we are setting up an entirely new
organization', says Van Slingelandt. 'The
number of employees abroad will also be
expanded. For the first time an advertise-
ment was inserted for this purpose in the in-
ternal vacancy bulletin published weekly in
the Netherlands. I think that in any event we
have to try it once to see whether any in
terest exists.' Things are going well with
Rabobank, outside the Netherlands too.
Van Slingelandt: 'When you go into the foreign
offices anywhere in the world you enter
a real Rabobank where Rabobank's phil-
osophy, agricultural background and
streight forwardness clearly come through.
The employees are also real Rabobank
people: modest, with both feet firmly on the
ground and hard-working. 1990 will be a
very successful year for us.
The US Agribusiness Advisory Board met
for the third time in Charleston, South
Carolina, in June. On the agenda were
topics such as Eastern Europe, environ-
mental issues and food safety. The devel-
opments in the US grain industry were
also on the list.
The US Agribusiness Advisory Board is an
informal body which alerts the Rabobank
Group to particular developments and
trends in American agriculture. The Board
has 13 members. These include top
people from companies in such agricultural
sectors as poultry, cereals, calf fattening,
dairy produce and market gardening. But
there is also someone from Flarvard Uni-
versity who follows the agribusiness world
with an academie eye. A meeting between
the US Agribusiness Advisory Board, the
management of Rabobank Nederland and
the management of our branch in the
United States takes place once a year.
The discussion centres on developments
and trends in American agriculture for the
coming three to five years. From this,
developments are pinpointed on which
Rabobank, as a banking organization, has
to keep close watch. On the one hand, to
see where possible risks may occur in the
future. But, of course, also to spot where
new opportunities will arise.
Fiugo Steensma, general manager of the
New York Branch: 'The Board is mainly
concerned with the United States. But the
agribusiness is naturally never a purely
American activity. About one quarter of
what is produced in the United States is
intended for export. So it is important to
follow what happens, for example, in the
EC and in Eastern Europe. International
developments and subjects therefore cer-
tainly come up for discussion.'
The first meeting of the Agribusiness
Board was held in 1988, at the time of the
opening of the office in Dallas. The Rabo
bank Group is the only bank to have such
an advisory board at its dis-
posal. 'You really must see
it as an informal activity',
emphasizes Steensma.
'The members must feel
free to exchange views
openly with each other. No
minutes are taken. It is also
the intention that the com-
position of the Board is
changed from time to time.
In that way the field of view
remains broad and up-to-
date. The members need
not necessarily come from
the United States. They are,
however, strongly involved
there with their company in
one way or another.' The
names of the members of
the Board are listed at the
back of the 1989 interna
tional annual report.