DSM - FAVOURABLY
IMPRESSED BY THE BANK
WHAT'S NewS Issue 10. October 1996
working relations
3
DSM, the formerly state-owned chemicals and materials group that
ranks among the more considerable of Rabobank's corporate clients,
spent five long years in a process of restructuring, downsizing, and
profound cultural change after the start of its trend-setting privatisation
in 1989. Last year, it reached a turning point. As a result of DSM's
strategy to maintain excellent financial health, the Group was able to
take advantage of the fact that the wider market had soared out of its
previous cyclical dip and prices were at historically high levels. If ever
there was a time for bold pursuits - this was it.
"DSM, which began life as a domestically-
orientated company known as Dutch State
Mines, has since iaunched itself on an
ambitious strategy of 'going for global
growth'. It is now pursuing this both
through acquisitions and by significantly
expanding in well-selected businesses and
geographical production areas. One signal
of the quickening pace was the need to
reschedule and increase the value of its
two syndicated credit facilities, which
totaled USD300 million. These were
combined into a single USD400 million
package and successfully Iaunched by
Rabobank in concert with Switzerland's
UBS this summer. 'When 1 see what Rabo
achieved, together with UBS, I can only
describe it as a class act,' remarks DSM
Corporate Treasurer Marius Frank.
KEEPING TRACK
It is perhaps a case of like being drawn to
like. 'Rabo belongs to a group of banks
with which we feel there is a special
relationship,' Frank observes. For
example, even if Rabobank cannot yet
compete with larger international banks in
every field, DSM is favourably impressed
by the high service level and the helpful
attitudes that are the hallmark of his
dealings with Rabobank International.
And Frank is not given to idle
complements. Each time DSM needs to go
to the market - for example to execute a
dollar-guilder forex deal - the corporate
treasury solicits competitive bids. DSM
keeps track of who wins and who loses
these bids and, working in the spirit of
Inaintaining an open dialogue and
Pndergoing continuous and mutual
performance evaluations, it apprises each
bank of its performance in different fields.
'Rabobank happens to be quite good in
the pricing of forex deals and derivatives,'
says Frank. 'That doesn't mean we expect
the same performance in every field. Our
philosophy is that each bank has its own
strengths.'
STRATEGIC SELECTION
As DSM's business becomes more
geographically complex, the demands on
its banks have increased. DSM has
Iaunched a major rationalization of its
banking policy in response. 'We looked at
our books and discovered that we were
dealing with around 30 banks worldwide,'
says Frank. 'From both a practical and
strategie point of view, this didn't make
any sense. We were determined to spend
less time on the phone fielding redundant
telephone calls and more time pursuing
our essential needs.'
FAST DECISION-MAKING
Earlier this year, DSM decided to reduce
the number of relationship banks from 30
to 16, and this figure will be further
reduced at the end of next year. 'We have
several selection criteria,' explains Frank.
'For example, our partners not only have
to be willing to invest the time and
resources to understand DSM on a long
term basis, but also need to understand the
context of our Dutch base. Rabo scores
well on both counts.' Among the
Rabobank qualities that has made a
particular impression on Marius Frank is
'fast decision-making.' He is also
complementary about the strong lines of
internal communication. The account
managers of some other well-known
international banks often seem to have
trouble coordinating their global networks.
With Rabobank, the lines of
communication and feedback are
impressively fast. It definitely ranks among
our top four partners in this respect.
DSM's Marius Frank - looking for proactive
banking relationsbips
GETTING THE JOB DONE
'In the old days,' Frank remarks, 'the
smaller of the "Big Two" international
auto rental agencies used to pass out lapel
pins that read We Try Harder. Well, Rabo
doesn't bother with the buttons or
anything like that. It just goes out and gets
the job done. We like that. We also
appreciate how the people at Rabobank
are so refreshingly down to earth. It
makes for a good cultural fit between the
two groups.'
DSM - DE BAND MET
RABOBANK
De Nederlandse
chemiereus DSM is
enthousiast over de contacten met onze
bank. De onlangs door ons samen met de
Zwitserse UBS opgezette deal voor het
herstructureren van twee syndicated loans
tot een grote van NLG 400 miljoen was
grote klasse volgens Marius Frank, concern
treasurer bij DSM. Ook ons hoge service
niveau,de behulpzame down to earth
benadering en vooral de snelle
besluitvorming binnen onze bank helpen
bij het in de race blijven als huisbankier, nu
DSM besloten heeft het aantal
bankrelaties terug te brengen van 30 naar
16 en wellicht nog minder in de nabije
toekomst. Persoonlijk, Samenwerkend en
Deskundighet werkt!
