Bargmann ON Dutch BANKING 6 On the record What's NewS Nummer 4 August 1995 How is Rabobank perceived in the domestic market and by the local competi- tion? Who better to ask for an objective view than the new deputy head of cor- porate banking and recent recruit from that very competition, Robin Bargmann. Robin Bargmann says he has spent his whole career in the 'Dutch' banking indus- try, hut in fact he also brings to the bank a broad range of international experience gained in New York and London. 'But that is very different to what I call "Dutch" banking,' he says. 'The Dutch are very entrepreneurial and anything but traditionalist. We're prepared to introducé new ways of doing things so we don't al- ways conform.' The reason, he believes, is because the Dutch domestic market is so small. Because economie growth is limit- ed, Dutch companies and therefore Dutch banks are obliged to cross borders to in- crease their business. 'So, for competitive reasons, the Dutch have had to grow along with the international banking in- dustry. I think Dutch banks have done that pretty well. And our image abroad reflects that international orientation.' STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES This brings us neatly to the subject of the Rabobank's image in the domestic cor- porate banking market. The results of a Het kersverse plaatsvervangend hoofd van bedrijfsrelaties Robin Bargmann, geeft zijn kijk op de Rabobankorganisatie. Hij concludeert: hoewel zijn vorige werkgever, ABN, het imago van top-bedrijfsbank in de markt heeft, heeft Rabobank de kwaliteiten in huis om die positie te beconcurreren.'De grote bedrijven wachten op ons,'stelt hij.'Wij moe ten ze niet te lang laten wachten.' recent survey were somewhat disappointing. Bargmann's for- mer employer, ABN Amro scored higher than Rabobank on many counts, even when it comes to corporates' percep- tion of the 'strongest bank abroad', and this in spite of Rabobank's Triple-A rating. 'Well,' says Bargmann, 'I think 3 ABN works pretty hard on its image, also as the best product innovator. But having seen 5 Rabobank from the inside, I'd say that was a myth. I think ij the quality is better here and s people are certainly equally ambitious. Maybe they are less extrovert than ABN, which is far more aggressive.' Having said that, Bargmann also thinks Rabobank lacks a certain strength in certain markets. 'We haven't been a large player in equity markets, especially on the origination side. We do better on the Mergers Acquisition side. But ABN Amro has always been strong in the equity market, so maybe in that sense, they seem more innovative.' INTERNAL CONFLICTS He still finds it hard to define Rabobank's strengths because the organization is so very diverse. 'Just take the domestic or ganization,' he says. 'The member banks have a level of independence, meaning they are strong locally, but probably not regionally, and I say that as someone who spent a considerable time as head of one of ABN's regional offices. That means there are potential conflicts of interests within the member-bank organization. For example, Rabobank Rotterdam is interest- ed in a cliënt based in Dordrecht, i.e. a prospect for the local bank there. Neither bank wants a conflict of interest, so, in the end, neither touches the cliënt. I think that explains why the bank has a fairly limited presence in the middle market. lts strength is definitely increasing at the upper end, because that is being done from CBS. And I also think that Dutch corporates are kind of waiting for us to make an even larger entry in that market. You can ac- tually hear that.' BEST CHOICE Asked whether he means the grapevine, he" says: 'No, I've actually had people say to me: "We're waiting for you." That win- dow of opportunity will be there for the next two or three years. So 1 think Rabo bank has to move, now. The competition will also be moving. But there is a lot of sympathy for Rabobank out there. It is looked on as a careful, sensitive and low risk-profile bank; and therefore, as an al- ternative to ABN, we're probably the best choice. Again, we have to be careful. ING is very aggressive and they are using their doublé presence in the corporate market as both an institutional investor and credit bank to very great effect. On the other hand, they may be a bit too aggressive. I know a number of corporates who don't really appreciate a bank walking in and stating they are co-owner of the company.j| SELF-ANALYSIS Bargmann is not sure we're moving fast enough. 'It could always be faster. Our people work pretty hard and, in my view, we're understaffed. A company which did an outside study of the bank confirms that - we're understaffed in level and in num- bers. But there is quality enough here, and there's a lot of ambition. Probably, we have to work on being a bit more aggres sive, a bit more self-confident. You know, everyone is talking about image, but es- sentially the image we want comes with success. What strikes me about the organization as a whole is a kind of intro- version. You talk about the image survey. That is just one of 31 ongoing quality pro- jects. Now, they are all very necessary. But we should actually be translating what we've learnt into practice. That's not easy because for the past year everyone has been discussing what's right or what's wrong or what could be done better. But this self-analysis won't make any money.' FUN AND ENVY 'I see my task here as bringing back that entrepreneurial spirit. I'm trying to work with the team leaders here as responsible business people. I don't want anyone wait ing around for instructions. We can agree targets and the way we want to approach the market, but essentially they should treat me the way they treat their clients - telling me what 1 need to know. It's much more fun that way. You know, a lot of banks are envious of Rabobank's CBS be cause we have all our divisions here, undef one roof, even the international division. We've got it all, we just have to make sure no one operates in isolation, because, as I said, the market is out there waiting for us.'

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blad 'What's news' (EN) | 1995 | | pagina 6