North America
North America - strategies
FOR GROWTH
San Francisco
Atlanta
New York
Dallas
Supplement for What's NewS
November 1995
For almost 15 years, American Rabobankers have gradually but systematically built up a
strong position, first in agribusiness and now in five other carefully selected corporate
areas.These years of hard work and dedication have certainly paid off - Rabobank North
American now ranks among the US's top five agri-banks. But according to Dennis Ziengs,
general manager of this enormous region, he and his more than 260-person nationwide
team believe this is just the start of something really great.
able to step in and that became
the basis for further expansion
and growth. In addition, this is
a market where banking is
relatively very competitive.' he
explains. 'Customers and
prospects are open to working
with new banks and that is
another factor that has helped
us develop a prominent market
position in the F&A sector in a
relatively short period of time.'
DEDICATED TEAM
According to Ziengs, the long
term relationship approach
1981 was a milestone for
Rabobank as it marked the
launch of its first really am-
bitious international operation
(Curacao actually wins the 'ol-
dest office' title - it was set up
in 1978). The New York office
established then was a small
affair. But the 1980s saw the
operation take off at rernar-
kable speed and the bank now
has four other offices - Dallas,
San Francisco, Chicago and
Atlanta - and advanced plans
for a Toronto operation to
open next year. Dennis Ziengs
describes Rabobank's success
here as a combination of fac
tors. 'Our initial focus was, of
course, on food and agribus
iness,' he says. 'We brought to
this market a long-standing
knowledge of that business.
Out of that indepth know-how
grew a self-confidence to make
the right decisions and choose
the right prospects. And that
led to the right customers. But
another reason for our success
here is that, to use an Amer
ican expression, we put our
money where our mouth is. I
mean that in the sense that
when we say we are a dedi-
cated, focused agri-business
bank for the long-term, we
actually do it. This is
specifically important in a
sector like F&A, where a lot of
banks come in when the
business is good and get out
when there's a downturn.'
STAYING POWER
Rabobank's arrival in the US
happened to coincide with a
period when agriculture and
agribusiness was going
through a fairly severe crisis.
'So in a sense,' Ziengs says,
'our success was also some-
what circumstantial. A lot of
other banks were shying away
from the sector. But Rabobank
stuck to its guns - we were in
this market and we were here
to stay. The opportunity
presented itself and we were
will eventually work in most
markets, and has clearly work-
ed in the US. But he also feels
this position could not have
been achieved without the de-
dicated efforts of the US team.
'I've said this many times to
many people,' he laughs, 'but
everything you do in banking,
and certainly in this particular
case, depends on the quality of
your people. Good people
VS - US TODAY
Sinds 1981 is de Rabobank aanwezig in de V.S.Het begon met kantoor New York en in de jaren daarna werden vestigingen geopend in Dallas,
San Francisco, Chicago en recentelijk in Atlanta. Ook zijn er plannen om in 1996 een vestiging in Toronto (Canada) te openen. Onze start in de V.S.
viel samen meteen crisis in de agri-sector.Als gevolg waarvan een groot aantal banken afstand nam van deze sector.
