Rabobank
SBC's Dutch
New faces
ACQUIRES
OPERATION
2
acquisition
What's NewS Issue 3 June/July 1995
Almost three years after an-
nouncing its intention to play a
more prominent role in the
equity market, the acquisition
of the Swiss Bank Corpor-
ation's Amsterdam-based unit
means Rabobank has increased
its domestic market share to
around 7 percent overnight.
According to Wouter Kolff,
head of the corporate finance
division, the acquisition meshes
perfectly with the bank's
strategy of expanding its whole-
sale equity activities. 'By tak
ing on an existing operation,
with a solid infrastructure,
people ƒ-
highly-trained personnel and a
sound relationship with inves-
tors, we have accelerated our
plans in this field.'
Former SBC staff and Utrecht
personnel will work together
in the newly established sub-
sidiary, Rabo Effectenbank,
to further penetrate the equity
market. REB will be located
in Amsterdam. The idea is not
only to keep people close to
the exchanges in the capital -
the EOE and the Stock
Exchange, hut also to give this
new subsidiary a bit of room
to breath and grow,' says
Kolff. Equity specialists from
Utrecht will transfer to Am
sterdam, while former SBC
bond people will move to
Utrecht, thus ensuring REB is
totally focused on the equity
markets.
Addressing a hastily-organized
party for all REB staff, he said:
'Rabobank can seem a bit of a
bear sometimes. We are maybe
a little slower than other
banks. But once we get mov-
ing, we really move.' Arthur
Arnold, head of financial mar
kets, added that the acquisition
will prove to many players that
Rabobank really intends to be-
come 'a formidible part of
equity land'.
REB will be headed up by for
mer SBC director Chris Bier
man. 'What we have to realize
is that this is a new bank, not
the continuation of an existing
bank,' he said. 'Our combined
group is very strong and I
think we have the capacity to
keep the competition on their
toes.' The new bank's first pri-
ority will be the Netherlands'
domestic equity market. How-
ever, longer-term strategy
points to potential interna
tional expansion.
Australia: New Zealander Dean
Clark has shifted closer to home.
After eight years with London
Branch.he has now been appoint-
ed senior manager corporate
banking and structured finance at
Rabo Australia. Sjaak Verschoor
moves to Sydney as deputy head
of operations from the foreign
offices department in Utrecht.
Belgium: Diederik Conijn has
been transferred from corporate
finance Utrecht to set up corpor
ate finance in Brussels. New secur-
ities dealers in Antwerp are Paul
Verplancke and Gerrit Carleer.
Frits Helders moved from Rabo
bank Eindhoven to the new private
banking office in Turnhout. His
Eindhoven colleague Rob Soetens
joins him there Martine Vander
Aerschot will be responsible for
private banking activities in Ant
werp. Formerly, she was in charge
of the Dutch Desk. Frank Nagel of
the Dutch Desk will move to Eind
hoven. He is replaced by Astrid
Schultz.
Brazil: José Eduardo Guilger has
joined the Sao Paulo office as
senior account manager.
Germany: Cormac Luccy has
been appointed project manager,
corporate finance. Uwe Opitz re
turns to Frankfurt as senior ac
count manager non-food follow-
ing a period with Rabo-Duta in
Indonesia.The financial markets
department has been reinforced
by DTB/OTC dealer Rupertus Rot-
henhaeuser and by co-leader se-
curity lending Michael Weigelt.
Senior manager M&A Andre de
Sike joined the bank in May. All
appointments already effective.
Netherlands: Co Stroomberg
and René Simonse have been
appointed market-makers with
financial markets'equity trading
department. Rob Koning takes up
the same position for EOE. Liz Me-
rica has been appointed senior
vice president origination, sydi-
cation and funding. Formerly with
the operations division's payment
and information services, Rob
Schols has moved to the food and
agribusiness account manage
ment team.
North America: Formerly with
Goldman Sachs in London, Eveline
Stam locatesto New York tojoin
the corporate finance department.
Singapore: John Tai joins the
bank as account manager, cor
porate banking.
Two-fifths of the very young credit
secretariat will be more familiar
to Rabobankers in London and
New York. London Branch's
Martin Penn was invited to join
the recently established depart
ment this spring, followed by
Moyeen Lagman from New York
branch, who joined the team on
June 1. We welcomed them with
a Dutch treat - raw herring.
HOLLANDSE
ISHELJWE
(what's in a word)
Every field has its own very
specific terminology, but the
financial world has some of
the strangest. In the first part
of a regular column on jar-
gonese, we asked project
finance specialists for some
of their oddest terms.
Belgian dentist: used to des-
cribe a rich individual inves-
tor seeking a safe haven for
surplus fund which will gen-
erate tax-free income.
Clawback: the project is ge-
nerating more surplus cash
than estimated at the start of
the finance contract. A claw-|
back clause is usually built
into the contract to cover
this situation and results in a
mandatory prepayment of
debt.
Circus: combined interest
rate and currency swap (also
used in other disciplines).
ECA: Export Credit Agency
- most industrialized nations
have an ECA which supports
major infrastructural pro-
jects in high-risk countries
thereby mitigating political
and sometimes commercial
risk for lenders. ECAs also
enable banks to provide
long-term financing against
reduced country exposure.
Equity kicker: also a clause
built into the project finance
contract. The project goes
even better than expected
and the investor receives not
only interest but also part of
the equity.
Pickle: not a gherkin or a
difficult position, but a type
of cross-boarder lease. It or-
iginated in the US, is called
after senators Pickle and
Dole, and is increasingly
used in power utility financ
ing. Through a Pickle lease,
an American investor can ac-
quire title to foreign pro-
perty, thus gaining fiscal
advantages, part of which
are played back to the bor-
rower.
