New German
Alliance
Food and agri-
business in focus
Ready for Mexico
Banking on
progress
INTERNATIONAL
Charity begins at home
General managers
around the table
ZOOMIT gets
the go ahead
CAM in action
FOOD
FESTWf»
Staff communication magazine
for the Rabobank Groun
Rabobank has signed a
cooperative agreement with four
major German banks - the GENO
and DG Banks of Frankfurt, the
SGZ of Stuttgart and WGZ of
Dusseldorf. What makes a
foreign bank the right alliance
partner for Rabobank? And what
does cooperation mean for both
organizations? See page 4.
Rabobank international strat-
egy is designed to make the or-
ganization the number one glo-
bal food and agribusiness
bank. Intense cooperation and
networking between offices all
over the world backed by solid
support from Utrecht is seen as
instrumental in achieving this
goal. See page 3.
Frits P.M. Mönking, food and
agribusiness team coördinator
in Rotterdam, has been de-
signated general manager of
the representative office to be
opened in Mexico city in the
summer of 1993. 'It's a great
challenge as Mexico is virtually
virgin territory,' says Mönking.
Zurich-based Raboinvest
Management Company wili be
applying to the Swiss author-
ities for permission to become a
fully-fledged bank and wili
change its name to Rabobank
Schweiz in the very near future.
The change of status is design
ed to strengthen Rabobank's
image as an international
private banking organization.
Issue 13/December 14,1992
The old saying has taken on a new meaning at the New York
office as every year around Christmas time staff prepare specialty
dishes at home which are subsequently sold to colleagues for a
dollar a taste. The proceeds of this lunch-with-a-difference are
donated to charities for the homeless in the Big Apple. 'We've
been doing it for so long, I can't actually remember when it start-
ed', says assistant treasurer Mia van de Ven. The New York office
has a staff of over 140 and many come originally from places all
over the world. 'That means we get to try a wide variety of local
and regional dishes', explains Van de Ven, 'and as the number of
personnel increases, we have more and more tasters eagre to
sample the food for a good cause. The more tastes we sell, the
more money we raise for the less fortunate in the city.'
A special meeting of the gen
eral managers of Rabobank's
offices worldwide was convened
in Utrecht at the end of Novem
ber to reassess the bank's strat-
egies in the light of bleak prog
noses for the world economy.
The main point on the agenda of
this special meeting was the
consequences of the present
worsening of the global econ
omy on the bank's budget and
aims for 1993 and later. In view
of uncertain development world
wide, the conclusions were that
policy should be aimed at
piacing greater emphasis on
quality ratherthan growth in the
near future. Ways to improve
quality were seen as continual
creative focus on clients, mar
kets, products and procedures.
Following pilot projects in-
volving Singapore, London, New
York, Curacao and Utrecht, a
new E-Mail system, ZOOMIT,
wili be introduced in all foreign
offices early in 1993.
'The advantages of the new sys
tem are two-fold,' says Steve
Barnes, who has been monitor-
ing ZOOMIT in London. 'First,
it's going to make communica-
tion with other offices far more
efficiënt, and, secondly, it's de-
finitely cost effective.' Alex Bok
in Singapore agrees. 'We've had
a number of teething troubles
here, but now the software has
been fine-tuned to suit our
Contined on page 2.
At the end of January, 35
coordinating account man
agers (CAMs) from offices all
over the world wili meet to dis-
cuss further implementation of
the new service concept de
signed to streamline service to
major international clients.
The bank often serves the
same cliënt in different loca-
tions worldwide. CAM has been
set up in response to cliënt de-
mand for coordinated service,
and to channel the bank's mar
keting efforts. In the initial sta
ges, CAM teams wili be created
to service 75 large clients.
'Captain' of the team wili be a
senior account manager in the
country where the specific
cliënt has its residence, and he
or she can draw on expertise
within the bank when required.
in addition to improving cliënt
service, the aim of the CAM
strategy is to promote sales of
a wide range of banking prod
ucts, such as corporate and
trade finance on a much wider
scale.
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