Foreign office in focus Rabobank Belgium: 'We are a mature office' iaoo In the first of a regular series of profiles on individuai foreign of fices, Raboband International drops in on the bank's Antwerp operation. Issue 16/March 22, 1993 The six-storey building on Antwerp's prestigious Frankrijklei in the heart of the banking district is shrouded in skaffolding. Only the broad doublé doors and distinctive Rabobank logo on a plate beside them are visible to the street. 'It's Frans van Bijsterveld: 'All our business is with major national and international corporations. symbolic,' jokes administrative services chief Albert Coenen. 'The skaffolding signi- fies we're always building on our business.' In fact, the building's facade is being clean- ed as part of the 'Antwerp '93 European Cultural Capital' celebrations, which have only added to the ancient Flemish trading city's normal bustling activity. Antwerp is a 70-minute drive from Rabobank's head of fice in Utrecht, the people of Flanders speak the same language, but to the Dutch visitor there's a decided sense of 'being abroad'. 'I think we have a very different culture here,' says Roger Delcroix, the bank's food and agribusiness account manager. 'We approach things differently in Beigium, and that's reflected in the way the bank in Antwerp does business.' Commitment There's a feeling of solid- ity and durability in the bank's offices. Ant werp was one of the first foreign offices to be established following the introduction of Rabobank's international expansion policy back in the early 1980s. 'We're a mature of fice,' confirms general manager Frans van Bijsterveld, 'since we began operations in 1984, we've seen our business grow stead- ily from a small foothold to the 76-person staff working on a full range of banking ser vices.' Triple-A Rabobank arrived at a time when many of the big American banks, which had entered the European market with a lot of fanfare, had departed just as to take business away from other banks to achieve this goal,' explains Van Bijsterveld, 'we will also be further expanding our repu- tation in other sectors of the whole market here.' At present, corporate financing ac counts for a substantial percent of the bank's loan portfolio. And from very small beginnings, Antwerp's dealing room now brings in 45 percent of gross income. 'When quickly when it turned out there were no quick killings to be made. 'Even though Rabobank already had a sound reputation in Belgium because of this country's close proximity to the Netherlands, we were still a foreign bank, and we had to develop re- lationships with clients,' says Van Bijster veld. 'The bank's policy of commitment and gradual growth was of real importance in establishing the trust that is essential when you are involved in the kind of market we have in Belgium. We have no retail activities here, all our business is with major national and international corporations. Many of these companies are subsidiares of global giants. So our Triple-A rating is very helpful.' Delcroix agrees. 'When you contact pros- pects,' he says, 'you mention our name, and Food and agri AM Delcroix - the food chain. moving up Van Mieghem (teft) and his treasury team - working on expansion. it smooths your entry considerably. It also means you can concentrate on what Rabo bank has to offer the cliënt, rather than spending time and energy on establishing your bona fides.' Initially, the Antwerp office focussed on Belgian government bonds, but these activities have gradually been super- seded by the bank's two specialist areas - food and agribusiness and corporate fi nancing. When Delcroix began moving into the food and agribusiness market, he faced tough competition. 'Agriculture is only around 5 percent of GNP,' says Delcroix, 'so this market is not essentially a growth market. Effectively, what we had to do was take business away from other banks.' Three years after Antwerp's first push into this market, 35 percent of the bank's business is linked to this sector. 'We start- ed with primary agriculture, and now we're moving further along the food chain,' says Delcroix, whose brief is to develop Rabobank Belgium's agri-business to the 50-percent Dutch norm over the next few years. Gradual growth 'As we're going to have the dealing room was set up five years ago,' says treasury manager Walter van Mieghem, 'I was told to start slowly, establish our reputation and grow from there. We began with one spot dealer and have gradually ex- panded our operations here to include almost the full range of dealing room in- struments.' The policy of putting the right person in place and taking time to establish relationships with clients has paid off. In mid-February, the dealing room officially launched its off-balance sheet activities, making it a fully-fledged treasury operation. Back-up No dealing room can function without back-room services and the Antwerp office has recently installed state-of-the-art computers to provide this essential back- up. 'We're the only foreign office in the group to have this kind of hardware,' says Coenen, with more than a touch of satis- faction. His administrative and personnel department comprises almost half of the bank's 76 staff and he is reponsible for EDP, accounting, money transfer, general services and personnel as well as the back office. 'These may appear the more mun- dane areas of operation,' says Coenen, 'but no bank can function efficiently without them.' Rabobank Belgium is not only func- tioning efficiently, it is effectively building on the solid base that has already been established over almost a decade of hard work. The skaffolding will soon be removed from the building, and in its turn the bright and shining facade will also symbolize Rabobank Belgium, but this time it will be the energy and vitality of its dedicated team of men and women. Coenen 's essential operations.

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

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