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'.

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'What's news' (EN) | 1996 | | pagina 6