new york
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WHAT'S NewS Issue 7 November 1995
'We're definitely geograph-
ically oriented,' Reece says.
'Our region is the same as the
agribusiness team's which Bar-
bara mentioned and we are in-
volved in corporate banking
lending. We are well penetrat-
ed in the F&A sector here and
in order to keep up growth,
we're pushing into other areas.
That means a major focus on
health-care and a number of
other selectively targeted areas
which Dennis Ziengs told you
about. We've been working on
our first area of diversification,
health-care, for just on two-
and-a-half years and we cur-
rently have over USD 1.5 bil-
lion in commitments
nationwide.'
INTERNATIONAL
ORIENTATION
Reece says it is difficult to es-
timate the exact value of this
particular market because the
competition is diversified. 'But
if I say that health-care repre-
sents some 14 percent of gross
national product (GDP) here in
the US,' he says, 'that might
give you some idea of the size
of the market. In fact, that
GDP figure also gives you
some idea of the kind of sec
tors we're targeting. We're
after significant industries, so
Utilities is another area we're
pushing into along with phar-
maceuticals and automotive
supplies.' But even though
Reece and his team have the
tough job of getting their feet
firmly into these new sectors,
he goes on to explain that 'cor
porate' in New York also
means Fortune 1000 upper-
middle market companies. 'Es-
sentially, we're looking at in-
ternationally-oriented
companies so we can bring in
other parts of our network.'
GENERATING FEES
Like the F&A teams, New
York's corporate bankers go
into the market armed with a
Charles Trainor, Treasury
whole range of products. 'We
actually have an open playing
field,' he says, 'and we can and
do offer added value. Because
the bank is Triple-A rated,
people often seek us out, for
example as a counterparty in
their swap business. We can
also offer access to the capital
markets by issuing letters of
credit or arranging bond issues
or commercial paper pro
grams. These are all fee-gen-
erating activities and at the
same time you build a re-
lationship with the cliënt. I'd
say our access to the capital
markets is an important prod
uct. Forex is another essential
product. In the past, when we
were focused solely on
domestic F&A, we didn't need
a greatly-developed foreign
exchange presence here. But
now that we're entering the
corporate sector in a bigger
way, we increasingly need a
full trading capacity - Charlie
Trainor and his people have set
that up for us.'
TREASURY NETWORKS
'We do everything now -
forex, derivatives, you name it,
we can do it,' Trainor con-
firms. As one of the longest
serving New York Rabobank-
ers (he joined the bank in
1982), Trainor can certainly
remember a time when they
didn't do everything. 'But our
needs have changed over time,'
he says, 'and we've changed
with them. Our operations
have grown incredibly so 4 of
my 17 person team are work
ing exclusively on funding for
our own business here. And of
course we're working on a
daily basis with the other
treasuries around the world. If
their needs are dollar-based,
we'11 do our darndest to get
them the best possible price. I
think you can say we've been
very aggressive in pursuing this
type of cooperation with them
and we value very deeply the
relationships we've built up
with other treasuries in the
network.'
MEETING NEEDS
The work and effort put in by
New York's treasury for the
regional network is something
Trainor and his team simply
take for granted. 'Look,' he
says, 'we're team-players here.
A lot of my people have been
in operations themselves so
they know how essential
cooperation is. There's a very
strong focus in the culture
we've built up over time on
doing whatever is necessary
and not worrying about where
the profit/loss goes. It's the
same when it comes to our
operations here. If what is
needed is sending a product
manager from New York to
the west coast to do a cliënt
visit with the local account
manager, then we'11 do it. We
gave a seminar to our people
in Chicago recently. Giving co-
workers the information they
need is all part of the job.'
Rabobank North America has
clients in 48 out of 50 US states.
Rabobank ranks among the top
five US agribanks.
The bank is the top cotton
lender in the US.
WIN-WIN SITUATION
Team-playing, networking - it
seems as if every activity in the
New York office is focused on
these two crucial concepts.
'And don't forget flexibility,'
Trainor says. 'We're quite a
small treasury in relative terms
and the other teams are not
exactly huge. So it's crucial to
be and remain flexible. If we
can keep the spirit of cooper
ation we already have and
make sure we get away from
any kind of provincial attitude,
then what you've got is a win-
win situation. And that's what
will make us a great interna
tional bank.'
NEW YORK'S FINEST
'I already mentioned the great deal Ling Tsou and Peter Greenberg of
Argentina have done/says Barbara Hyland..'That was a real achieve-
ment. So I'd rather give you an example of strong networking that
we're really proud of. Four years ago, we started a fairly low-key re-
lationship with the Esteve Company, an international commodity
trading group with operations in Latin America, Mexico and Europe.
Over time, we have grown from a domestic lending situation of
maybe USD20 to 25 million to around USD150 right now. We're
already doing financing and import/export financing for them in New
York, in Mexico, in Brazil and in London,and we've just introduced
them to Popular Rabobank in Madrid.That's what I mean when I say
we have a super network.'
Een goed voorbeeld van networking is de relatie met de Esteve Company, een internationale commodity group, met vestigingen in Latijns-Amerika,
Mexico en Europa. In vier jaar tijd is deze relatie gegroeid van lokale financieringen van USD25 min. tot USD150 ml. wereldwijd. Mexico, Brazilië en
Londen doen nu ook zaken met het bedrijf en onlangs is Popular Rabobank in Madrid geïntroduceerd: Zakenvolume door samenwerking.
