Working porties
Corporate finance -
meeting for the future
3 International
ISSUE 23/15 NOVEMBER 1993
Although in terms of domestic activity, Rabobank is among market leaders in corporate
finance in the Netherlands, and even though some of the 'older' foreign banches have
already managed to get a foot firmly in the door of their local markets, as more and
more new offices are opened, there is an increasing need for global strategy
development and networking. Last month, representatives from corporate finance
departments - both well-established and new - met with their counterparts in Utrecht to
establish a coherent and structured approach to networking.
Agri-attache Yvonne Oudt on Italy
Recent visitors to the basement
restaurant at the Utrecht headoffice could
have been forgiven for thinking there
was a fiesta going on. But the live music,
bright market stalls and colourful posters
were no more than the backdrop to some
very serious business. Spain and Italy
were the focus of two 'country days'
organized by the bank in cooperation
with the foreign offices there, and if
attendance is anything to go by, both
satisfied a very real demand.
The name may be the same - Rabobank
Corporate Finance - whether the people are
operating in Hong Kong, London or Curacao.
But no two markets are ever identical. Each
local market has its own culture, its own idio-
syncracies, and its own pace. The three-day
meeting was designed to give each country an
opportunity to explain not only its own spe-
cific activities, but also the exact nature of its
markets - including potential openings for
cooperation within the corporate finance
network.
This was the first time the corporate finance
division in cooperation with the international
division had organized a meeting on this scale.
'I think it was important to bring people
together,' comments Wouter Kolff, head of
the division. 'Although the Utrecht faces may
have been familiar to most of the people from
the foreign offices, many had never actually
met their counterparts from around the
world. So they had a chance to talk face to
face. And to get to know each others' oper-
ation and products first-hand.'
One of the main points to emerge from the
country presentations and subsequent dis-
cussions was the need for flexibility in prod
ucts. 'There's no point in bringing inflexible
products if the market doesn't want them,'
said Paris' Jean-Louis Bernard. 'In the French
office, you could say corporate finance is still
in its infancy and we are still involved in defin-
ing strategies for growth.' The general con
sensus, however, was that whatever the office's
stage of development, the market and its re-
quirements had to be the point of departure.
'In Italy we're involved in back-to-back engin
eering,' Roland van Limburg Stirum ex-
plained. 'Now, I know a lot of you aren't
exactly in favour of this kind of deal, but it is
O ff the beaten track-the venerable
Chateau Marquette in the heart of Hol-
land's countryside was the venuefor hard
work and inspired discussion.
what works for us in Milan at present.' The
Milan office does not actually have a special-
ized corporate finance department, so it tends
to work through Utrecht extensively.
In contrast, the UK has a strong team. Syndi-
cations is now headed up by recently recruited
Robert Halcrow. In his maiden presentation
to Rabobankers, he outlined trends in the UK
market. 'We're at a stage,' he said, 'where
companies are actually dictating which banks
are allowed into syndications. And those
banks which are invited have to bring creativ-
ity to the table. Companies today are looking
for relationship banks because they want com-
mitment in their banking partners. They are
also looking for speed and efficiency through
flexibility. This is definitely an area where syn
dications and corporate finance teams can put
networking concepts into practice.'
The corporate finance meeting is slated to be-
come an annual event. 'Next year we will go
right to the heart of our business,' concluded
Kolff, 'and work together in depth on very
specific areas, such as M&As and structured
finance. This is necessary because unless we
tailor products to our clients' needs, we won't
be able to sell them. That's the bottom line.'
As head of the international division, Rik van
Slingelandt was invited to close the meeting
that had brought together some 20 corporate
finance specialists from around the world and
a further 20 from Utrecht. 'What we've been
doing here is working on ideas and products,'
he said. 'Now we have to turn them into mar
kets.'
The notion behind these days is decep-
tively simple. Invite along speakers with ex-
tensive knowledge of a specific country and
people who want to do business there, pro
vide a wealth of expert information, then put
them together in a convivial atmosphere,
and let nature take its course.
During the Italy day, an audience of around
70 member-bank clients heard an indepth
review of a wide range of sectors from the
Dutch embassy in Rome's agricultural at
taché, Yvonne Oudt. Rabobank Milan was
also represented and strategie alliance part
ner Cariplo's director Astarita provided an
overview of banking in Italy. The major dif-
ference between a Rabobank seminar of this
kind and the more usual presentations
organized by governmental trade missions
is that country days are not exercises in
public relations. They are about the reality of
doing business in a specific country, warts
and all. Oudt explained why, for example,
Italy actually imports tomatoes from the
Netherlands. Why giant Italian companies
come to Holland for meat to be used in the
manufacture of such national delicacies as
'Parma' ham. In the dairy sector, around 40
percent of Italian consumption is imported
- much of it fforn the Netherlands. She also
explained the underlying reasons for this
seemingly incongruous situation. Beginning
with the unstable political situation, she went
on to cover lack of good infrastructure and
a basic lack of a structural and commercial
approach to agriculture. 'The Italians also
have a tendency to keep their best and most
marketable regional products for themselves,
which means there are plenty of opportun-
ities for exporters from other countries to
fill gaps in what is a large market,' she said.
The program for Spain was similar in struc-
ture. Guest speakers included representatives
from Banco Popular, Rabobank's partner in
the Popular Rabobank joint venture.
