What's NewS United Kingdom Rabobanking in The City ^^UPPLEMENT HOR WHAT'S NewS FEBRUARY 1996 NETHÉRLANDS FRANCE For an international network asyoungas Rabobank's, a 10- year anniversary is something to celebrate. But in London's centuries-long history as a major global financial centre, a single decade is little more than a drop in the Thames. 'That's why we limited the festivities to a staff party, rather than making a big splash outside,' says London Branch's )general manager Gijs van der Schrieck. Yet, in those short 10 years, London Branch and its Edinburgh office have managed to make a real impact. Van der Schrieck talks us through how his team is building an operation which takes full advantage of the opportunities offered by The City. 'No offence to the world's and for all of the other other major financial centres,' financial institutions here, that says Van der Schrieck, 'but the means things can be done here fact of the matter is that more easily and efficiently than London remains the heart of in other places. It also means the financial universe. For us, the expertise is here, too. We Ten years of Rabobanking general manager Gijs van der Schrieck cuts the celehratory cake with Lynn Quilliam who joined the bank a decade ago. intend to make use of every opportunity that gives us.' LENDING TO WHOLESALE According to Van der Schrieck, a twin focus on servicing the UK market and on developing London Branch into one of the centres of specific expertise and competence for the rest of the network has led to a clear change from a lending to a wholesale bank. 'By wholesale bank,' he says, 'I mean we offer the cliënt the whole range of our products in corporate banking, corporate finance and treasury. It is a logical development, not least because the margins you can get on lending go nowhere near making the kind of return on solvency we need to meet our targets. THE FAMOUS FIVE This transformation into a wholesale operation was launched just over two years ago, and is known in the bank affectionately as the 'Five Fox Hills' (see box next page). 'It's how we dubbed our strategy,' Van der Schrieck laughs. The management team got together in this country place to hammer out the key elements of our refocussed approach to the market. The place was called Fox Hills. Now, all the staff see EDINBURGH DUBLIN RABOBANK LONDEN In 1983 startte de Rabobank meteen vertegenwoordiging in Londen.Twee jaar later werd deze omgezet in een kantoor. Londen groeide uit tot een succesvolle vestiging, die vorig jaar haar tweede lustrum vierde. Sinds 1990 beschikt Londen ook over een Loan Production Office (LPO) in Edinburgh. Kantoor Londen maakt gebruik van de voordelen die vestiging in het financiële centrum van de wereld biedt. Sinds twee jaar voorziet Londen haar klanten niet alleen van alle produkten op het gebied van corporate banking, maar ook op het gebied van corporate finance en treasury. Gijs van der Schrieck geeft een overzicht van de ontwikkelingen gedurende de afgelopen jaren. En hij vertelt over de uitstekende resultaten die Londen heeft geboekt.

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