RECIPE FOR
SUCCESS
Rabobank
M°nthly i»t ERNAL NEWSLETTER FOR THE CENTRAL BANKING SECTOR Issue 2May 1995
What's NewS
Come along and cook your own supper
may seem an odd kind of dinner invitation.
But the treasury managers' initiation to
hot stoves and delicate sauces had, of
course, a more subtle purpose. One of the
main aims of their annual meeting agenda
was improving personal contact and pro
moting networking between the 13 man
agers normally scattered throughout the
world and their Utrecht-based colleagues.
And it appears to have worked. The three-
course haute cuisine dinner they produced
in unison was a time to digest the other
topics on their busy agenda.
Value at risk had the heaviest focus. But
there was also a chance to discuss the de-
monstrations of new systems, back office
developments and the progess of interna
tional business.
in brief
DEALING ROOM
GROWTH
Financial market activities in
Utrecht have grown so rapidly
in recent years that existing
space and facilities have been
expanded by one-third.
The 36 new desks are all
equipped with the latest
Triarch technology which links
the Excel and Reuters systems,
providing automatic spread
sheet updates. 'Old' desks will
be upgraded similarly over the
next few months. No less than
24 new staff will join the team
this year, with a further 15
to follow over the coming
years.
FRENCH CONNECTION
The bank will host the 'Why
invest in French food and agri-
husiness' in conjunction with
the Invest in France Agency on
May 16. The seminar is aimed
at companies which are
seriously considering setting up
a subsidiary in France, contem-
plating a joint-venture with a
French company, or currently
exploring the market with a
view to future expansion.
NEWS FLASH
- The state-owned Dutch
energy concern EBN is
looking for NLG 250 mil-
lion on the domestic cap-
ital market.
Rabobank and the Swiss
Bank Corporation Neder
land lead manage the issue
which is the first in the
Dutch capital market to
use the selling group struc-
ture along side bank syn-
dication.
Speakers include experienced
Dutch business people already
working in France, lawyers
and F&A specialists. The bank
is represented by head of the
corporate finance division,
Wouter Kolff and André Bar of
Rabobank France.
MONEY MACHINES
Rabobank is the first bank to
introducé cash machines which
also dispense foreign currency.
Clients can now draw cash in
D-marks, Belgian francs or
guilders from 350 cash dis
pensers nationwide.
RECORD CENTENARY
Although the bank's official
centenary celebrations are
slated for 1998, the first ever
cooperative bank founded in
the Netherlands is already
partying. The Midden-West-
land member bank opened its
doors on May 18, 1895 and
in the run up to the big day
this year, staff got together
with pupils from the local
horticultural college to produce
an enormous vegetable mosaic
measuring 10 by 14 metres
(photo). The giant case of
vegetables is good for a
mention in the Guiness Book
of Records.