New international
marketing
move
Talking agritrade
LAURA launch
Rabo
Improved
measures against
bank fraud
Over the next few months,
the Marketing Services De
partment wili be sending out a
range of new marketing tools
created for international use,
including a comprehensive
Marketing Manual which has
been designed to cover all as-
pects of Communications.
'I think everyone recognizes
the need for continuity and
consistency in communica-
tion,' says Marketing Services
head of department Kim Egger.
For this reason, the depart
ment is currently finalizing two
video films and a series of bro
chures which wili be forwarded
to international offices in the
near future. Although
the new media tools
wili be welcome ad-
ditions in marketing
the bank's services,
the need for consis
tent application of
the corporate image
is even more essen-
tial. The Marketing
Manual, which is
about to go to press, s
wili provide instant
support and infor-
mation on the funda
mentais of the Rabo-
The goals of the managers
at the international agritrade
finance conference held in
Utrecht in September were
clear cut - the development of
common aims and a joint ap-
proach to trade finance for five
commodities on the world mar
kets, and iearning to work
together more effectiveiy in
order to achieve this.
The results showed that even
After a year of pilot oper-
ation at nine Rabobanks, the
first phase of the new LAURA
automation system has now
been launched throughout the
Netherlands. LAURA, or Local
AUtomation RAbobanks, is
designed as a national infor-
mation network which can be
accessed by all local Rabo
banks. It wili gradually repiace
existing computerized sys-
tems, providing the kind of fast
and efficiënt system essential
to banking in the future.
The LAURA project is the result
of intense cooperation between
Issue 12/Novem 16, 1992 band
bank Communications strategy.
It should answer most if not all
questions that can arise on
marketing, 'and,' adds Egger,
'we're aiways available here in
Utrecht to provide any as-
sistance people may need.'
The films are very different in
almost all respects, but both
put across aspects of the image
the bank wants to project. 'One
is a commercial we produced
to back up the name-change of
ADCA-Bank into Rabobank
Deutschland recently. It lasts
three minutes and visualizes
our image as not only a Dutch
bank, but also as a European
and international bank.'
The second film is longer and
aimed specifically at Rabo-
bank's food and agribusiness.
'We were looking for a way of
presenting this field that was
during a conference there is
still time for doing deals. Re
presentaties from branches
aii over the world and area man
agement heard presentations
on trade finance practices in
the cotton, tobacco, fertilizers,
dairy products, and rice and
sugar sectors. The nature of
risk, export promotion and the
value added function of syndi-
cating were also on the pro
gram, as well as a number of
on-site visits to clients. Al-
Rabobank Nederland and the
Italian automation giant Olivetti.
The hardware and basic software
packages wili be installed at all
Rabobanks in the Netherlands
by Olivetti, which is acting as
both supplier and system in
tegrator for the project. Specific
Rabobank applications have
been developed internally to
meet member bank needs, and
Utrecht wili also provide sup
port, training and advice. The
ultimate aim of LAURA-1, the
first phase, is integration of
cliënt information in a system
which also combines user-
friendly word and data pro
cessing functions. In addition,
new and informatie,' says
film-maker Tonko Tomei. 'We
finally opted for a profile of one
of the foreign offices at work in
the field. This way you imply
and show our experience and
commitment - you're not just
forcing some media slogan
down the client's throat.' The
15-minute documentary film
wili be premiered at the meet
ing of the Agribusiness Coordi-
nation Team on November 25,
and one copy wili be sent auto-
maticaily to all foreign bran
ches and offices soon after,
along with the film clip. At
present, Dutch, English,
German and Portuguese ver-
sions of the agribusiness video
are in preparation.
The new English-language range
of brochures has reached the
development stage. 'We are
now working on the
production of the
first series that wili
comprise subjects
such as new interna
tional directory,
private banking, tru
st, and corporate fi
nance. These wili all
be available to the
foreign branches
soon,' says Egger.
The Marketing Ser
vices department
can be reached on
+31 30 90 20 84.
though most of those present
knew each other by reputation
or through telephone contact,
the sessions and discussion
that followed presentations
proved technology is not
always a substitute for sitting
down face to face. By the end
of the meeting, interaction
between participants had led
to the conclusion of a number
of deals - all of which goes to
show there's nothing to beat
the personal touch.
LAURA wili offer a range of fur-
ther options in the future. in
this first phase, which shouid
be completed by the end of
1995, a comprehensive cliënt
data-base wili be created. It wili
combine information from
CRAB, the Rabobank's cliënt re-
lation system, with local data,
thus providing faster and more
efficiënt customer service.
Phases two and three of the
LAURA project, which are plan-
ned to begin in 1995, wili re
piace the present system which
processes local transactions,
and provide the organization
with a fully modernized com
puterized system.
Over the past two years,
numerous business people
have been duped and Dutch
banks have lost no less than
Dfl. 3 million in cases of bank
fraud perpetrated by a West
African gang operating in
Europe. The Crisis Manage
ment and Fraud Prevention De
partment has now established
more stringent guidelines for
dealing with such cases, and
has set up a hot line for infor
mation and assistance to all
Rabobanks and offices.
'Let me just give you an example
of how this fraud is practiced,'
says Fred Horbeek of the Rabo
bank's Security Coordination
Department. 'A poultry farmer
here in the Netherlands sup-
plied 17,000 chickens to a
cliënt in Nigeria based on docu-
ments from the Ministry of Trade
there. When the order had
been met, he was paid by
cheque. Unfortunately, it turn-
ed out to be a forgery, just like
the documents.' Politica! insta-
bility in West Africa is a major
factor in the increase of this
type of fraud cases. 'These
countries are often rich in
natural resources,' Horbeek
says, 'but there is a great deal
of poverty. They are aiso prone
to unrest. This has led to a
flourishing trade in forged or
false documents.' Individual
business people are not the
only victims. 'We're hearing
more and more about similar
frauds involving banks,' Hor
beek explains. 'More often
than not, it's through paying
out on cheques that turn out to
be forged, or subsequently
bounce. We're advising mem
ber banks to pay out exclusive-
iy when a cheque has been
cleared. If an account credit of
any size occurs based on a
foreign transfer through SWIFT,
then they should have this veri-
fied and confirmed before mak
ing any payment.' All member
banks and international offices
suspecting fraud can call the
inhouse hot line for assistance
or information. The number is:
+31 30 90 33 33.
