5 International
Strategie alliance
Outsourdng
Keeping costs down
Royalties
Branching out
ISSUE 35/14 NOVEMBER 1994
The new branch's policy is designed to get
them there. Whereas the competition handles
all business for all clients, Milan is focusing
solely on the real multinationals. 'This is
where our strategie alliance with Cariplo
comes in,' says Van Limburg Stirum. 'Accord-
ing to some sources, Cariplo is the largest
bank in the country, while others say it is the
second largest. But which ever way you look
at it, its a big bank.'
Cariplo originated in the Northern Italian
Lombardy region, but through a series of min-
ority stakes in southern savings banks, it now
has a comprehensive nation-wide network.
'This means it can assist our Dutch clients
wherever they need to be, and especially the
small and medium-sized companies, so we
can concentrate on the very big players,' Van
Limburg Stirum continues. 'As yet, it is not a
major thing - we only began in 1992 - but it
is certainly starting to piek up. I'd say it was
already a success in the sense that we have al-
ways been able to handle cliënt requests
promptly and efficiently.' 'To make this work,
even at a modest level, is a real success,' De
Cardona believes, 'because strategie alliance
partners can perceive you as competition. So,
I think what we've already achieved together
is quite remarkable.'
There appears to be a lot that is quite remark
able and even unique on Via Albricci. Their
computer main frame is a case in point - they
don't actually have one. 'We use an outsour
dng system,' explains information system ma
nager Marco Tagliani, 'so we don't need a
main frame in the office.' This year, Milan sig-
ned a contract with an outside company that
had been created by a group of banks with the
aim of providing this type of service. 'We are
the only foreign office to use this approach,
and are possibly the only bank in Italy. But this
company has been selling the software itself to
banks for some years now,' says De Cardona,
'and it works extremely well. They offered us
this deal which means we can access their
hardware and software at all times. In fact, a
lot of other banks here are watching us close-
ly to see how it works.'
The advantages are patently clear. There are
no fixed investments in technology that is
often almost obsolete before it's fully oper-
ational 'and,' says De Cardona, 'we don't need
an enormous EDP department. That is a real
saving. There is a minimal risk of non-success,
truly minimal, because this system is based on
software that has been tried and tested for
years. Our only risk is if the telephone lines all
break down.' The downside is, of course, con-
fidentiality. 'As we're the first bank to try it, I
doubt there's any chance of a breach in con-
fidentiality,' says Van Limburg Stirum. 'I
think it's more a psychological or emotional
thing for us - the idea of someone else having
insight into your figures. This company is
trying to sell the service to other banks, so they
are doing everything they can to make it a suc
cess because it is not in their interests to prove
untrustworthy.'
It is almost impossible to get a whole office
together at one time, and so itproved in
Milan - missing from thephotos are
treasury managers Guiseppe Civardi and
Massimo Borgato (out at a conference),
Laura Tosini, assistant to the controller
(on maternity leave) andAngela Sabatelli
of the back office who was ill.
There is more than a hint of pride as De Car
dona goes on to mention another computer
first. 'We have a heavy focus on treasury and
Marco Tagliani has developed the most ad-
vanced interest-rate swap software on the
Italian market to assist our treasury managers.
Other banks are now interested in buying it,
so we have made an agreement with a software
house to sell it under their responsibility. But
we'11 get royalties.' Now there's a hint of
satisfaction.
In Milan, small has been beautiful and pro-
fitable for Rabobank since the operation be
gan. But if they are to achieve the aims they
have set for themselves - continued annual
growth in all activities - Rabobank Italia is
going to have to grow itself. The branch will
be looking to doublé its present staff size over
the next three years. Yet, they have no inten-
tion of losing their positive bottom line. 'I
think we upgraded at precisely the right time,'
De Cardona believes. 'We could have gone for
it earlier, but a lot of factors made waiting
worthwhile. We have no capital because new
EU legislation means a European bank can set
up in another member state without bringing
in capital to the country concerned. Plus, by
doing it now, we can have both the branch and
the fmance company operating side-by-side
without ever having to decrease our profits.
We'11 be recruiting new staff- in just about all
departments. But we'11 do that in a phased
way. We've proved profitable in the past and
we want to keep it that way. Even with all the
changes and additional costs of upgrading,
we've still made a growth budget for 1995.'
As you look around the spacious, light and
essentially elegant Milanese office with its al
most tangible sense of focused activity, you
somehow can't help sharing Rabobank Italia's
confidence.