Financial markets -
on the road
4 International
Why is Rabobank going to the markets more
frequently?
What has made other currencies so attractive?
Over the past few years, the bank has seen a
dedine in savings inflow. Is this also a factor?
Rabobank has always maintained a fairly low
profile. How are you going about attracting
investors?
Is that why you have opted for the roadshow
strategy?
What factors determine the country?
Is promotion and stimulation of name
recognition a factor?
New image, old values
ISSUE 33/19 SEPTEMBER 1994
In recent years, Rabobank has become an increasingly frequent borrower on the
international markets. As part of the bank's efforts to expand its investor base, the
financial markets division organizes international roadshows to promote name
recognition and inform existing investors of Rabobank activities. Investor relations
manager Freek Hoek talks about the bank's increased funding requirements and the
thinking behind the roadshows.
In the past, the funding of our organization
was done primarily through guilder bond is
sues along with the monies we received as
funds entrusted through savings deposits. If
you look at our funding activities until 1992,
then you see 85 percent of external funding
was in guilders, with DM and ECU making up
the rest. Now, only 47 percent is in NLG, and
the remaining percentage is in a variety of cur-
rencies. So, you can see our funding has be
come an international activity.
First, you have to understand that Rabobank
is growing and we are also involved in a lot
more activity outside the Netherlands. We
need more funding to finance these activities,
and we also wanted to expand our investor
base on the international scene. In addition,
funding in other currencies is sometimes
much more attractive, in other words cheaper,
if you, say, attract US dollars and then swap
them for guilders.
Absolutely. Many of the people who would
traditionally have saved with Rabobank are
now investing in the funds of our strategie al-
liance partner, Robeco, one of Europe's largest
houses. So we are looking elsewhere, and that
means the markets.
When we decided to do more on the interna
tional markets, we wanted to be able to offer
a broad range of products - some plain van-
illa, others extremely creative and innovative.
For example, index-linked issues with multi-
currency options. Before you can do that, you
have to determine exactly who the target
group is, then develop tools that will provide
that group of investors with the information
they require. We set up a working group be-
cause we needed the support of other disci
plines. If consists of our own research man
ager, the external Communications people,
marketing services and the economie research
staff group. Because you not only need to
know your target group, you also have to have
insight into their national regulations and, for
example, Central Bank policies on non-
domestic currency investment.
Actually, the idea grew out of the Far-East
roadshow at the time of our Dragon Bond
Issue last year. It was so successful, we decided
to do similar presentations in other countries.
Our next roadshow is Tokyo this month. As
preparation, we gave a presentation to the
sales forces of all the Japanese banks and
houses in London. That was also a great suc-
cess, and we've already been offered some very
attractive Yen deals. In Tokyo, we will be talk-
ing to Japanese institutional investors on a
one-to-one basis, as well as making a presen
tation to about 70 major investors. Then we
will be going to Switzerland to do the same.
Switzerland has long been a very important
market for placing Rabobank paper. And you
really need to communicate with investors
and keep them informed about what you're
doing. We have always been a fairly low-key
issuer, but now we are increasingly active. So
you have to teil people why this is, and at the
highest level. The bank's chairman Herman
Wijffels will speak at the Zurich presentaiton.
We're also working on a roadshow for the US,
and we expect it will happen in the very near
future.
Very definitely. Obviously, we want the best
possible placement for our paper, but we also
want to support the bank's other activities,
and especially those of the foreign offices. In
the end, that is what it is all about - promot
ing the whole organization.
Have you seen it yet? Have you had a
sneak preview? It must be around some-
where. Maybe locked in the safe. Or in a
drawer. But it's there. The Stationery Tooi-
Kit for Foreign Offices is an impressive
looking tome. And its arrival means the
start of the slow but certain demise of the
old, familiar Rabobank blue and the angu-
lar though somehow loveable old logo.
Times are changing and the bank is mov-
ing with them. The new symbol (we aren't
allowed to call it a logo) has been designed
with the aim of making it a valuable and
unique identifier for the future. It repre-
sents the bank's 'focus on the cliënt in a
human, warm and personal way'. I
couldn't help thinking about these words
when I was talking to some dealers from
the Singapore treasury the other day, tell
ing them about the very start of Rabobank.
About the strong boxes in sitting rooms
and the courageous independence of the
people who set up tiny cooperative banks
in the face of seemingly overwhelming
resistance from the established financial
powers-that-be.
Everyone in those early member banks
knew everyone else involved. They did
business together, were married into each
other's families, and their trust was based
on personal experience and knowledge.
Banking today is a very different business,
although some of us may still know our
bank managers. The general trend has been
away from the personal and into the com-
puterized service unit, such as automatic
cash dispensers, which is certainly efficiënt
- if they don't swallow your card, of
course. But you can't help thinking they
lack the human touch. If you're over your
limit, you can explain that to a counter
clerk - there's no discussion with a menu.
Clearly, we can't halt progress (and who'd
want to leave home without a cash card?).
Yet we can perhaps hang on to something
of the old style, very human bank within
the automated business of banking. This is
what the new housestyle is all about, right
down to the new lettertype, the new
colours, the layout guides for compliment
slips, internal memos, letterheads and all
the bits and pieces that go to make up a
stationery cupboard. Over the past couple
of years, the bank's cooperative principles
based on mutual assistance, long-term re-
lationships, integrity and honesty have
been dissected, examined, analyzed and
reevaluated. The bottom line - literally in
this case - is that they're alive and well and
living in Rabobank, all we have to do is
give them the modern face and expression
that brings back the personal touch
without losing sight of the progress.
