The art of private banking
hand
US Mid-West
hit by flooding
People
Foreign Office in focus - Rabobank Switzerland
For almost two centuries, Switzerland has been synonymous with
strict financiai secrecy and a style of services to clients that have
become known simply as 'Swiss' private banking. Foliowing Rabo-
bank's recent acquisition of a full licence from the Swiss authorities,
Raboband dropped into the office on Zurich's Steinentischstrasse to
talk about the private side of banking.
Fact File
Issue 20/August 23, 1993
Continued from page 1.
flooding have used this period to retool and
do essential maintenance, and a number of
our herbicide clients have done a lot of bus
iness as weeds were a major problem follow-
ing the wet spring. So, although there may
be some instances of companies being
seriously hurt, it looks as though most could
still come through this relatively alright if we
have a good autumn.'
Sidwell himself had to survive three weeks
without running water when the local filtering
plant went out of action foliowing flooding
and, for a time, secretary Sharon Ludler
feared she would lose her home. 'Fortun-
ately,' adds Sidwell, 'the weather seems to
have turned and the sun is out again. Let's
hope it stays that way.'
Australia Foliowing the Sydney office's
recent upgrade, two new staff have been
recruited. David Owen joins the banks as
operations manager. He comes from the
bank of America. David de Carli takes on the
position of senior manager corporate bank
ing. De Carli has spent most of his career
with the Banque Nationale de Paris. Both
appointments effective August 16.
Brasil Ursula Starke has been promoted to
the position of trainee with the commercial
department.
Germany Jaap Klep has been appointed
member of executive board of Rabobank
Deutschland. Fie repiaces Pierre Vorage
who has recently taken up the managing
directorship of Rabobank Eindhoven.
Luxemburg Alain Grunberg and Jos Kat
have left the bank.
Utrecht Wim van de Goorbergh has been
appointed member of the executive board,
effective June 6. Arthur Arnold (photo),
formerly deputy general manager of the inter
national division, has
been promoted to
general manager
financiai markets.
He took up his new
appointment on July
1. Piejo Bruijn has
left the financiai mar
kets division to join
the foreign offices j
department where
he is currently work-j
ing on enhancingthe
limits system.
lil 'Siimg» Editorial staff
KflUU Stan Polman and Anne Lavelle
(Editorial Department), Ceesvan
Rest and Brigitte van Kanten (In-
ternational Division).
INTERNATIONAL
Editorial address
Rabobank Nederland, Caroline Renette, editorial as-
sistant, P.O. Box 17100, NL 3500 HG Utrecht, Tele-
phone +31 30 902083, Telefax +31 30 901904
Designed and printed by Hoonte-Holland, Utrecht
Switzerland is unique in
many ways. lts multi-lingual
population haves success-
fully pursued a confederate form
of co-existence since the 13th
century, and its banking system
has made it famous world-wide.
Little has threatened the security
of the 'Confederation Flelvetica'
(which explains the CH country
plate on Swiss automobiles) since
Napoleonic times, and a tradition
of referenda ensures its political
stability. Located in the heart of
Europe, it forms an independent
island surrounded by a burgeon-
ing unified EC. And last Decem
ber, the Swiss chose to keep it
that way when they voted to stay out of the
European Community by a slender majority,
which means that the privileges currently en-
joyed by private banking clients will remain
intact - at least for the time being.
Bankville The great Swiss banking
cities - Geneva, Zurich and Basel - are
touched by an atmosphere unlike that of any
other metropolis. As you walk through the
staid streets, you are immediately struck by
the number of banks and financiai institu-
tions - some familiar, others obscure - that
crowd out the expensive stores. In fact, Zu
rich seems mis-named; a more appropriate
title would be bankville. Rabobank's general
manager, Floyte Sillevis Smitt, smiles at the
notion. 'It'strue that the majotity of financiai
institutions in the world at least has a pre-
sence here,' heconfirms, 'butthenyou have
to realize that the combined assets under
management in Switzerland mean that the
three banking centres are second only to
Tokyo in volume. In real terms, that repre-
sents a figure of around SF 1.500 billion, of
which 17 percent is managed by for foreign
houses. Thus, the potential market here is
of the order of SF 225 biilion.'
Around 50 percent of these 'assets under
management' belong to the world's so-called
Type of operation: Rabobank Switzerland
AG, fully-fledged bank under licence from
the Swiss Federal Banking Commission
Established: 1988 as Rabolnvest Man
agement
General manager: Floyte Sillevis Smitt
Staff: 12, including investment advisor
based in Brasil
Products: International private banking,
Trusts
'high net-worth individuals'. These are the
clients served by private bankers. 'The tradi
tion of Swiss banking secrecy was started at
the time of Napeleon,' Sillevis Smitt explains.
'Wealthy French families afraid of losing their
possessions brought money, gold and jewel-
lery over the border and piaced these assets
in the hands of old Swiss banking families for
safe-keeping. Discretion was of the essence,
and this is how the famed Swiss banking se
crecy originated. Over the past two centuries
it has developed into the style of private
banking we know today, and in which discre
tion still plays a prominent role.'
Private Although it may seem incong-
ruous for a global agribusiness bank, Rabo
bank culture is actually tailor-made to ac-
commodate private banking. The bank's
philosophy of developing long-term rela-
tionships with clients - be they corporate,
retail or private - fits seemlessly with the
notion of 'Swiss' banking. 'A private banking
relationship is built on personal interaction
between cliënt and banker,' senior portfolio
manager Willem Jan Flabersaat believes.
'The reason Switzerland remains a preferred
choice for high net-worth individuals is be-
cause, unlike, say, our US counterparts, we
offer history, privacy and products tailored
to our clients' particular needs. We don't
sell pre-fabricated products, and a Swiss
private banker doesn't have hundreds of
clients. If you wantto build upthe person-to-
person relationship essential in this job, if
you want to gain confidence and enhance
that relationship, then you have to know
your clients. And they have to know you.
What we try to do here is keep them inform-
ed on a very regular basis, so they know
exactly why we are making specific pro
posals, and how we intend to achieve the
best possible return.'
Team work Flabersaat and his col
leagues portfolio manager Patric Keiler and
