Ireland What's Dublin - NETWORKING FOR SUCCESS Supplement eor What's NewS April 1996 Group cooperation and networking are the key to the bank's operations, but nowhere is this more intense and obvious than in our Dublin operation. Unique in the network, you'll find not only Rabobank here, but also De Lage Landen and Interpolis - all under one roof and working closely together on multi-disciplinary services and products for corporate clients worldwide. Why has the Irish capital been selected for this concentration of strength? What's NewS went to find out. bank,' says Rabobank general manager Arnold Kuijpers, 'the first is, of course, domestic business. Ireland is not a huge economy, but around 9 percent of GNP is generated by F&A compared to an EU average of 3 percent. That in itself makes it an interesting market for us.' ATTRACTIVE CLIMATE However, besides the obvious attractions of the local corporate market, there was also a further major incentive which has implications for the whole network. 'In the late 1980s,' Kuijpers continues, 'the Irish government created a favourable climate for the international financial sector. In fact, this facility is known as just that - the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). It is a fiscally friendly environment for international financial institutions and corporates which is designed Arnold Kuijpers Rabobank Ireland officially opened its doors on 1 July 1994 when it joined two sister companies already in the Republic. The Irish capital was an attractive location for all three Group activities for a number of reasons. 'For the EDINBURGH LONDON NETH LANDS ELGIUM FRANCE to attract them and their business to this country.' FISCALLY SECURE There is an old saying that Ireland's biggest export is its well-educated, highly trained young people. The IFSC structure was put in place with the aim of not only building Ireland into an attractive location for foreign organi- zations, but also to provide real career opportunities for Irish professionals. 'The Irish government received permission from the EU to apply a 10- percent corporate tax rate to IFSC activities up until the end of 2005,' Kuijpers explains. 'This creates a fiscally secure environment for a guaranteed minimum period. This environment can be harnassed to the bank's advantage, but also for corporate clients. For example, it could prove beneficial for a corporate to relocate its treasury business to the IFSC so that it can avail itself of the 1 O-percent tax advantage. But moving would be an extremely costly exercise. So we provide that service for them, we manage treasury "centres" for corporates. In that way, they become eligible for fiscal advantages through our IFSC operation.' GROUP EFFORTS Treasury dealing and agency treasury management are only two aspects of Dublin service. 'We also offer structured finance as well as international and domestic lending,' Kuijpers says. 'Besides very tight relationships with the international network, we also work very closely with De Lage Landen and Interpolis. De Lage Landen funds from Dublin for its whole organization. We have provided them with three treasury positions in our dealing room so that when they translate their funding needs into transactions, we IERLAND - EEN HECHTTRIO Samenwerken doen we tegenwoordig bijna op elk gebied binnen onze bank, maar topsamenwerking vindt plaats in Ierland, waar Rabobank, De Lage Landen en Interpolis onder een dak nauw samenwerken voor klanten uit de hele wereld. Naast deze interne zaken worden door de drie partijen gezamenlijke produktpresentaties verzorgd voor bedrijven, zodat additioneel voordeel behaald kan worden. Ierland is zeer attractief in het kader van onze F&A strategie. Daarnaast heeft de Ierse overheid een (fiscaal) zeer gunstig klimaat geschapen voor bedrijven en de internationale financiële sector, bekend als het International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'What's news' (EN) | 1996 | | pagina 7