RABOBAND
People
2 International
In memoriam Jos van Boxel
Euro-payment
system in place
Getting the F&A
message across
ISSUE 35/14 NOVEMBER 1994
On September 21, former Australia general
manager Jos van Boxel passed away in New
York following a short illness. At the time, Jos
was based in New York while exploring the
Canadian market for the bank. The following
tribute comes from colleagues in Sydney.
'We were all extremely
saddened by the loss,'
writes Chris Abben-
huis on behalf of 'staff.
'To lose a colleague like
Jos, who was always so
full of life and inten-
sity, is difficult for all
of us. We still cannot
believe this has happen-
ed. Jos made many per-
sonal friends in bus
iness and private life in
the five years he and his
family lived here and
was highly regarded by
the business commun-
ity in both Australia
ei and New Zealand. We
have received numerous
messages of condol-
ence from clients, business contacts and acquain-
tances - all of whom were deeply shocked by his
sudden death.
'We remember Jos as a person who was very com-
mitted to the job he took on. He did not hesitate
to take initiative and get things moving. He could
also operate modestly in the background and sup
port other people's ideas as a very involved team
member. His experience enabled him to manage
and coach people in a very personal way. It was
appreciated by all who knew him. Without his re-
silience, we would have lost many opportunities.
'Our sympathy goes out to his wife, Tienie, and
his son, Thijs, who will have to go on without
Jos.'
On behalf of the whole international division, Rik
van Slingelandt joins Rabo Australia's staff in of
fering condolences to the family.
Jos's death is described as 'a real loss for our in
ternational efforts'. Says Van Slingelandt: 'he was
a pioneer, a man who was able and did develop
markets single-handedly. He was a fine person
and we will all miss him.'
The bank has introduced a
new system which will make
inter-EU payments cheaper,
faster and more simple.
In future, inter-European pay
ments will be charged at a fixed
rate. The Standard cost of a pay-
ment up to ECU 2,500 (or its
equivalent) will be NLG 10 if sub-
mitted electronically. Although
the new Euro-payment is not an
express transaction, the bank can
even guarantee payment will be
effected within six working days
in those countries - Germany,
Belgium, France and the UK -
where it has strategie alliance
partners.
Incoming payments will also
follow the same routing and
charges have been kept to a
minimum - NLG 7.50 per trans
action. The advantages of a
fixed-charge system are obvious
in the sense that in the future,
clients will know exactly how
much they will have to pay for
specific foreign transactions.
Becoming a global food and
agribusiness player is one of
the bank's primary aims. By
working in the market,
Rabobank is achieving a
growing reputation in this
field. But a more proactive
strategy is needed to get the
bank's message across to
potential clients. In the past
few weeks, Rabobankers have
been involved in a number of
presentations at prominent
trade fairs and congresses.
Ahrend Heijbroek of the
agribusiness research team
provides a round up of recent
activities.
On October 19, Joost Verheijen
gave an introduction to the Agra-
Europe conference held in Lon-
don for the dairy industry. Some
150 managers from major dairy
companies worldwide then par-
ticipated in the discussion initiat-
Edinburgh Neil Gullan joins the
Scottish office's corporate ban
king section as senior manager.
London The treasury department
has been reinforced by forex
senior dealers Tim Jones and
Sachin Vazé. Director/senior
manager John Cripps has been
appointed to the M&A section of
the corporate finance department
with Simon Davies joining the
structured finance section as as-
sociate director. Secretary Sandra
Staunton will be assisting the cor
porate banking section. Andrew
Stitson is the new deputy man
ager in administration. The credit
analysis team has been strengthen-
ed by assistant manager Peter
Dow. Taxation advisor Peter
Hobbs joined the bank on Oc
tober 3. All other appointments
already effective.
North America/Chicago Michael
Butz joins the recently launched
office as account manager, vice
president. He gained his banking
experience with Citicorp, North
America and The First National
Bank of Chicago after receiving a
bachelor's degree in agriculture
from the University of Illinois.
New York Stable value products
manager and vice president Joseph
Brickner came to the treasury de
partment from Chemical Bank,
Lynch, Jones Ryan and The
Equitable Financial Companies.
He gained his MS in Science, Bus
iness Administration, at the Robert
Morris College in Pittsburgh.
ed by Rabobank on changing
market circumstances in the
global industry. Two days later,
the bank's GM in France, Oet
Bakker, made a presentation to
the Eurofruit Congress in Paris.
He linked data from the recently
published studies on the world
fruit and retail markets. The lat-
ter shows concentrations in the
larger retail chains and Bakker
outlined the implications of this
trend for the fruit industry. Re-
sponses from participants were
extremely positive and the Rabo
bank stand was busy as the bank
reinforced its commitment to the
fruit trade in the wake of our own
international congress last spring.
Rabobank was also active in
Germany. Hans Winkelmolen,
senior account manager in
Frankfurt was invited to make a
presentation on the global seen
business to the Deutsche Saat-
veredlung's congress on this in
dustry. Wholesalers, retailers and
press attended giving the bank a
real opportunity to demonstrate
its expertise in this field.
De Lage Landen in New York
DLL has located senior sales
officer/vice president Richard
Gamble at Rabobank's New York
office. He will establish a Dutch
desk at the bank which should be
operational by the end of this year.
Gamble was formerly senior ac
count manager at De Lage Lan
den Factors in Tunbridge Wells,
UK.
Utrecht/Marketing Services Sec-
retary/project assistant Shirani
Zaat joined the department from
Rabofacet. Sjef Eurelings left
marketing services and he is suc-
ceeded by Maarten Giezeman.
Formerly with retail banking mar
keting in Eindhoven, Giezeman
became marketing manager effec
tive
International
Editorial staff
Stan Polman and Anne Lavelle
(Editorial Department).
Cees van Rest, Kim Egger and
Frank Klemann.
Editorial address
Rabobank Nederland, Caroline
Renette, editorial assistant, UC-R
514 P.O. Box 17100, NL 3500 HG
Utrecht, Telephone +31 30 902083,
Telefax+31 30 901904.
Designed and printed by
Hoonte-Holland, Utrecht.