WHAT'S NewS Issue 9 September 1996 bankers on the spot have that, and so does Philip, who is the ^Kirst banker to cross over from purely ^^rimary sector responsibilities to corporate banking. Michelle is our executive secretary. She did four years as PA to the director of corporate finance at Goldman Sachs in London. So she has a sound finance background.' Both divisions will be expanded. 'In the case of corporate banking, this growth will be slow and modest,' Clark says. 'At present, we're looking for one additional person. I understand the rural division is actively looking for new people as well - the four offices, at Auckland, Christchurch, Palmerston North and Dunedin, are strategically located, but the area they have to cover is quite wide.' EXPORT SHIFT The New Zealand market appears the ^fclosest thing there is to an F&A banker's paradise. Essentially export-oriented, in the 1950s and 1960s, the UK was New Zealand's biggest trading partner. More recently, export focus has shifted, especially in geographic terms. 'Australia is a major partner,' Clark confirms. 'The EU takes only 16 percent of our exports. By far the biggest partners today are Japan and the other Asian countries. Now I could bore you to tears with all the volumes and percentages, but in terms of agriculture, Asia and especially Japan, is the number one focus for us.' While New Zealand does not have the agri-diversity of neighbouring Australia, it has built worldwide reputation and market share in a number of products. 'We don't have cotton, or sugar, and we don't have huge grain harvests,' Clark confirms. 'What we tf^o have is dairy, which accounts for 34 percent of agri-exports, meat, wool, fruit, fishing and forestry, and of course sheep meat.' STRONG ECONOMY New Zealand is a substantially bigger exporter than it is an importen 'That's right,' Clark confirms. 'And over the past decade, successive governments have been totally committed to economie reform and to taking government out of business. This has real advantages in that we now have a thriving, competitive business environment here. We have minimal inward and outward tariffs, and New Zealand boasts the least direct support to agriculture anywhere in the world. All subsidies to agriculture have ëjeen abolished. What this means is that rver the past three to four years, we have had a very strong economy with high levels of growth and low inflation. Although we have actually dipped into a tiny trade deficit, it is safe to say we have F.l.t.r. Elwyn Violich - manager, Rural, Palmerston North, Allan Fleming - Rural Lending manager, Jaap Klep - General manager, Dean Clark - National manager, Corporate Banking, Diana Patterson - Secretary/office Supervisor, Ron Lander - Senior manager, Rural, Adrian Brough - Rural Lending officer a trade surplus and impressive budget surpluses.' PRICE OF LOW INFLATION While other nations may look on this development with envy, it also creates a problem for an export-oriented country. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is required to maintain price stability through monetary policy. 'And it has to keep inflation between 0 and 2 percent annually,' says Clark. 'The only way it does that is through the management of short-term interest rates. And because our rates are currently much higher than our main trading partners, our exporters, are looking at an extremely difficult scenario. Just to give you one example, the New Zealand dollar has appreciated 26 percent against the US dollar in the last two years. That alone has wiped more than NZD 2 billion off dairy export receipts. So you'11 understand that the management of currency is paramount for our exporters.' NETWORK RESPONSE This type of service will be available to New Zealand clients via the treasury at Rabo Australia. 'We have opened as a branch here for a number of reasons. One is funding efficiency, the other is fiscal advantages. But Rabo Australia remains our 'parent' and provides all our vital services. Our colleagues there are extremely important for us, but also those in the whole international network. When we started up here, Philip and I sent out over 70 faxes to all the offices in the network. We told them who we were and what we could do for them - there are specific advantages for NZ-based banks. We got a great response and now have almost weekly requests from various parts of the network for assistance to their clients which have subsidiaries here. Even though we have a number of our own clients - and some are pretty big players, even in global terms - you'11 understand that the network is vital for us. Because, as the smallest branch in the network which is also 12 hours ahead of the rest of the world, it is our life blood.' NIEUW ZEELAND OFFICIEEL GEOPEND Op 28 augustus jl. is Rabobank Nieuw Zeeland officieel geopend. Vanuit de vestigingen in Auckland, Christchurch, Palmerston North en Dunedin richten accountmanagement teams zich zowel op de primaire agrarische industrie als op de F&A bedrijven. Het kantoor is nauw gerelateerd aan Rabobank Australië en wordt van hieruit ondersteund op het gebied van treasury producten en andere diensten. Nieuw Zeeland kan ondersteuning bieden aan klanten van onze andere kantoren die er een vestiging hebben of er zaken doen. Op hun beurt maken zij graag gebruik van de diensten van andere kantoren voor ondersteuning van hun eigen klanten.

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