FOCUS FOR THE
FUTURE
Bank notes
6
cbs organization
What'S NewS Issue 3 March 1996
Over time, CBS, or the bank's wholesale
operation, has developed far beyond the
original purpose established in the late
1970s - to serve local member bank clients
abroad and support trade finance. But in
spite of major developments within CBS and
the other organizations which comprise
Rabobank Nederland, the ultimate policy
and decision-making procedures have
remained the same.Last issue, we promised
an initiation into the concept of the Centrale
Kringvergadering - the top body which is
responsible for approving policy on our aims
and how we achieve them.This is how it
works.
Again, we begin with the local member
banks because they occupy the most
important position within the organization.
In contrast to most other banks, the central
Rabobank Nederland (RN), which includes
CBS, is not the parent. RN was established to
serve the member banks which are, in
essence, its collective parents.The local
banks each have their own members -
people who have a relationship with the
bank through credit facilities or on a
voluntary basis. Every year, these members
come together in what is known as the
General Assembly. During this meeting, the
Supervisory Board and Board of Directors
give account of pursued policy and
information on expected developments.
Through participation in the ensuing
discussion, members can exert influence on
the bank's policy.
If you extrapolate this concept to Rabobank
Nederland, then you find that although the
'members'are the local banks, the process is
exactly the same. If they are to carry out this
task of policy-making, the member banks
have to be fully informed and a sound
consultation structure is essential.To achieve
this crucial information flow.the banks are
divided into 27 so-called 'cirdes',each
covering a specific area of the Netherlands
and meeting at least twice a year for
consultation. Delegates from these 27
'circles'are appointed to the so-called
Central Circle Assembly which meets four
times per year.This assembly could be called
the Rabobank parliament. It is a crucial body
as it provides a forum for the banks to
discuss and define policy.There are,of
course,advantages and disadvantages to
this form of decision-making. One
disadvantage is that establishing policy can
entail often lengthy consultation. However,
once a decision has been reached, it can be
implemented rapidly and can count on the
support of the whole organization.
It is almost five years since the so-called Strategie Action
Plan (SAP) to set CBS on a focused growth track was
developed and implemented. In that period, CBS has
achieved many of its SAP goals. Return on solvency
reached 9 percent in 1995, the international division has
expanded rapidly and successfully, and, perhaps most
importantly, CBS has increased its value added to clients.
Now, CBS is in the process of developing strategy for the
coming years and, as executive board member Henk
Visser explains, the whole organization will be involved
in how we position and focus for the future.
Henk Visser
'In recent years, we have seen a lot of
developments both in the financial sector
itself and within the bank,' Visser says.
'One of the most striking for us is the
increasing evolution of Rabobank
Nederland into a holding company
comprising a number of areas of expertise.
I'm thinking here of, for example,
Interpolis as insurance unit and De Lage
Landen for asset-based financing. Over
time, CBS has also evolved, not least
because of our achievements in recent
years. It has become the wholesale
banking unit for the Rabobank Group.
The aim now is to find ways of further
implementing this process. That could
ultimately lead to a new name for CBS
because "central banking sector" is
internally rather than externally-oriented.
There was some talk a few years ago of
changing it into Rabobank International,
or something like that. But that doesn't
cover all of CBS's activities.
CRUCIAL PARTICIPATION
'Before we start looking at names, there is
a far more important task ahead,' he
continues. 'The executive board and
management committee are currently in
the process of reformulating policy for the
future. We believe we should take our time
for this process of determining what we
want to be in the market. And we all agree
that formulating a new policy is not a
matter of asking two or three people what
they think. Obviously, the ultimate
responsibility for the new policy paper
rests with the executive board. But we
believe it is crucial to ask several people to
participate in this process. People in the
organization may already have heard that
the management committee has organized
a number of meetings with senior CBS
staff from all over the world. Their
involvement and commitment is essential.
BRINGING ADDED VALUE
'The major line we are looking for in
developing our policy plan for the second
half of the 1990s is increased focus on what
our goals are. We need to examine how we
can really bring added value to our
customers. We are also looking at further
expansion of some of the activities we
started in the 1990s, such as private
banking, and to some extent, investment M
banking. And also the probable expansion™
TOEKOMST VAN HET
CBB - 'WAARHEEN,
WAARVOOR'
De meeste doelstellingen
van het vijfjaar geleden opgestelde
Strategisch Aktie Plan zijn gehaald. Henk
Visser brengt ons op de hoogte van de
nieuw te ontwikkelen strategie, die zijn
invloed zal hebben op de hele organisatie.
Het concept voor deze strategie wordt
samen met een groot aantal senior
managers geformuleerd. Op dit moment
vinden een aantal 'Regional Managers
Conferences' plaats. Belangrijkste
uitgangspunt is op welke wijze het CBB
meer toegevoegde waarde kan leveren aan
haar klanten. Betrokkenheid en commit-
ment van het hele CBB is van essentieel
belang:'Neem je verantwoordelijkheid en
denk mee over de toekomst van het CBB'.