lt s official
ALCO operational
Private talk
Down under
on top
Germany hosts
chairman's
farewell
Meijer
appointed
new chairman
In conference
Staff communication magazine
for the Rabobank Groun
The Rabobank office in Zu-
rich has gained a banking li-
cence from the Swiss author-
ities. Originally established as a
so-called 'banklike finance com-
pany', the Zurich operation will
now change its name to Rabo
bank Switzerland Ltd. 'There
are two prime advantages,'
says GM Hoyte Sillevis Smitt.
'One is thatthe private banking
market will now perceive us as
a fully-fledged bank - our capi-
tal is SFr 23 million - and, sec-
ondly, we will be subject to the
stringent regulations of the fed-
eral banking commission in
Bern, emphasizing our profile as
Swiss private banking institu-
tion. It's a great development.'
Following six months of re
search and discussions by the
international Asset and Liability
Management project team, a
streamlined and fine-tuned ap-
proach has now been devel-
oped for this important concept.
'The aim was to provide man
agers with a tooi which would
help them improve perform
ance,' says Mario Latufo, the
team's secretary. The first phase
was put into practice in early
June when a group of GMs at-
tended a 1.5 day course given
by external advisor Jason
Cavanagh of DC Gardiner who
will also provide a day-long
course for treasury managers
at the end of this month.
At the end of May, the Zu
rich office welcomed private
Rabobankers from London,
Luxembourg, Guernsey and
Frankfurt to establish more
firmly the networking practices
essential in this area. 'It was
the first of what I hope will be
regular meetings between us,'
says Luxembourg GM Jean-Pierre
van Keymeulen. High on the
IPB's agenda was the basic
definition of the private banking
concept. 'Once you're all talk-
ing about the same thing,says
Sillevis Smitt of Zurich, 'then
you can really get down to pas
sing the ball.'
The Sydney office is ready
for growth now its status has
officially been upgrade. GM
Jos van Boxel expiains. See
page 2.
Van Verschuer (seated, second
left) and the board in Frankfurt.
Baron Otto van Verschuer
chaired his final supervisory
board meeting on June 3, but
not in his usual surroundings.
He had expressed a wish to
pay his respects at the Raiffei-
sen monument and Rabobank
Germany was happy to oblige.
You could say Van Verschuer
(65) grew up with Rabobank.
His father was chairman of a
member bank and Van Verschuer
describes his tenure in the
same position as 'one of the
most attractive jobs you can do.
In that role, you can do somet-
hing for the community where
you live and work. It's very gra-
tifying.' Rabobank Germany
were equally gratified when they
heard of Van Verschuer's wish
to visit the Raiffeisen monu
ment.'We immediately offered
to host the supervisory board's
meeting and arrange both the
visit and the farewell dinner
held in the Baron's honour,'
says general manager Albert
Sonntag.'Before the meeting, I
had the opportunity to give a
presentation on our office and
the board members were abie
to see how we operate here in
Frankfurt. I think everyone
would agree that the whole day
was an unquaiified success.'
Following Baron van Ver
schuer's retirement, former
secretary of state for Culture,
Recreation and Social Work
Wim Meijer (53) has been
named as Rabobank supervis
ory board chairman.
The new board chairman sees
his appointment as a continu-
ation of his previous career. Fol
lowing a 10-year period as a
social worker, he was elected
to the Netherlands' Second
Chamber in 1973. 'In both
jobs,' he says, 'a sense of re-
sponsibility for each other is
paramount. And though the cir-
cumstances that generated the
cooperative movement more
than a century ago have changed
drastically, the principle is still
valid today, in 1993.'
On the development of Rabo
bank as an international finan-
cial institution, he believes
'thatthe organization made the
right move when it began estab-
lishing offices worldwide and
entering into strategie alliances
with equal European partners.
This is the kind of structure you
need in today's world when so
many of your domestic clients
are increasingly international in
their operations.'
When Meijer was invited to join
the board, he was Queen's
Commissioner for the province
of Drenthe. 'I truly enjoyed my
The 1993 general managers meeting (GMC) took place from
June 7 to 11. GMs from all of the bank's offices and new ap-
pointees were present at the conference in Utrecht. See pages
2 and 3 for more information.
job as commissioner,' he says,
'but I see this opportunity as a
real challenge. I believe that
you have to fight for your per-
sonal development and growth
at every stage in your life. And
l'm more than motivated to
take up this challenge.'
Meijer - ready to meet new
chalienges.
