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ADCA-BANK
back in East
Germany
I
Rabobank will shortly become
established in East Germany.
An office is being opened in
Leipzig through the German
subsidiary ADCA-BANK AG. A
GDR desk will also be added to
the ADCA Branch in West Ber-
lin. In this way Rabobank aims
to respond to the opportunities
which result for business cus-
tomers from the German-Ger-
man monetary and economie
union which has existed since
July 1. Under the ADCA banner
the bank will also start concen-
trating on East German com-
panies which are currently busy
reorganizing on Western lines,
particularly in agribusiness. We
interviewed Peter Berns, man
ager of the ADCA Branch in Ber-
lin since July 1. He is the first
- and only - Dutchman there.
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The disappearance
of the Wall creates
new opportunities
Issue 7/September 21, 1990 hand
The Brandenburg Gate was the scene of festivities at the opening of the Berlin Wall.
t was an incredible experience on
November 9 and 10 last year in Ber
lin. The astonishment when it was
announced that the Wall was open... That's
something l'll neverforget. People weeping,
champagne, car horns blaring, one great big
party. But in the following weeks the reality
came to the fore: what will happen now,
how tast will the developments go?' July
first saw the fulfilment of one of the essen-
tial conditions for rebuilding the East Ger-
man economy and hence for the entry of
West German banks into the GDR. Berns:
'As far as the Rabobank Group is con-
cerned, the activities relating to the GDR
will be concentrated at the ADCA Branch in
West Berlin. Twenty-three people work
there, and with the activities in East Ger
many in mind anothertwo account managers
will be added to the office staff. They will
man the GDR desk. A representative office
will be opened in Leipzig with a staff of two
for the time being. It will depend on the fur-
ther developments whether - and if so when -
this will be converted into an operational
office.'
Back in Leipzig With an office in Leipzig
the ADCA-BANK returns to the town where
its head office was located until 1945. In
that year the bank was closed and compul-
sorily taken over by the Soviet occupying
power. Until then the ADCA-BANK, which
was founded in 1856, had an extensive
branch network of about 160 offices, particu
larly in the territory that now belongs to the
GDR. 'As a result of these historical ties the
ADCA-BANK has a good entrée on
the East German market', says
Berns. 'It will probably be some
time yet before industry in East
Germany has been restructured
and before the office can make a
significant contribution to the or-
ganization's result. But neverthe-
less it is useful to follow the de
velopments from an outlook post
on the spot so that we can re
spond to them in good time.'
Interest Among the custom-
ers of the local Rabobanks there
is a great deal of interest in doing
business with East Germany. But
because they have no knowledge
of the rules and regulations in
that country they are still adopting
a wait-and-see attitude. The task
of the ADCA-BANK Branches in
Berlin and Leipzig will be to help these en
trepreneurs find their way in the GDR and
support them from the banking viewpoint.
ADCA Branches in Hamburg and Hanover,
which are close to the GDR, will also be in-
volved in this. Apart from the opportunities
for entrepreneurs in small and medium-
sized industrial companies and business
services, there will also be good possibili-
ties for the agricultural, processing and an-
cillary industries. The necessary agricultural
reforms in the GDR and the improvement of
the East German food sector offer good
sales opportunities for suppliers of agricul
tural knowledge and equipment and of high
quality foods. Berns: 'East Germany is an
industrial country currently undergoing de-
velopment. It is also a typical agricultural
country, an agribusiness country. In other
words a country where the Rabobank Group
feels at home. In that area we have in-
house expertise that other banks cannot
even remotely approach.'
Peter Berns: 'We will start developing our activities in the
GDR from West Berlin and Leipzig.
Private savers Total savings in the GDR
amount to 160 billion (East) marks. That
represents about 10,000 marks per per-
son. On July 1 much of that was converted
into West marks in the ratio of 1:1. The rest
was converted in the ratio of 2:1. 'The GDR
has a great many wealthy private savers',
comments Berns. 'About 7 per cent of the
savings accounts comprise more than two-
thirds of the total amount of savings. In view
of the specific knowledge about private
banking in the ADCA-BANK it is quite poss-
ible to start doing business in that field in the
GDR. In short: opportunities enough.'
