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).