WHAT'S NewS Issue 11 November 1996
info exchange
13
prospective European Central Bank (ECB)?
The current set of policy instruments used
by the Dutch Central Bank is substantially
different from those being proposed under
the EMU regime. The proposed set of
instruments of the ECB very much
resembles that currently used by the
Bundesbank. The Dutch system is focused
on short-term market interventions that
target the exchange rate to achieve
medium-term monetary policy goals,
while the German system is geared toward
the medium-term control of broad money.
PROFIT OR LOSS?
As the Dutch system begins a phased shift
in the European direction, 'our competitive
position vis a vis our German colleagues
will deteriorate,' Wim Boonstra noted
recently. 'Either the renumeration on
reserves in the Netherlands is abolished, in
which case we lose [between NLG 600
million to NLG 1.5 billion per year], or
German banks will face a windfall profit
as a result of the introduction of
renumeration in Germany.' For this reason,
he concludes, 'cost reduction remains high
on the agenda in Dutch banking.'
ON TARGET
Since the first EMU meeting in Antwerp
last June, the specific implications of these
issues have been under consideration by
five coördinators working in the European
offices. Their task was to define the key
issues as well a state possible solutions,
and the reports were made available at the
Frankfurt gathering. Also at Frankfurt, the
coördinators heard reports from officials
of the European Monetary Institute and
from the Landeszentralbank Hessen about
monetary policy under the new regime as
well as the design of the new common
payments system: Target.
DIGGING DEEPER
Kruimel concedes that the gathering
'generated more questions than answers. It is
clear we still have to dig deeper and do more
homework on individual issues. For
example, the UK has an especially complex
task of preparing itself for one of two
options that depend entirely on the outcome
of their elections and a government policy
decision about whether to join the common
currency.' Concrete ideas emerged from the
Frankfurt meeting as well. Among them is
the conviction that Rabobank International
should begin to organize meetings for its
customers outside Holland, as well as
informative brochures, in order to more fully
outline the main transitional issues that lie
ahead. Thought is also being given to the
formation of a consultancy group. This
group would leverage expertise gained as a
result of the internal transition process in
order to help Rabobank customers meet
their own needs and adapt their own intern-
al systems. Expert groups will meet on an
ongoing basis to further develop these ideas.
EMU - KANSEN EN
BEDREIGINGEN
0ÈÉÜDe tot standkoming van
de EMU leidt niet alleen
tot bedreigingen, maar biedt ook nieuwe
kansen. Het per sector in kaart brengen van
onze sterkten en zwakten toont nieuwe
niches. Op dit moment wordt hard gewerkt
aan een overzicht wat er allemaal moet
veranderen. Alle technische (sub)systemen
moeten in 1999 omgezet kunnen worden
en ook commercieel moet alles voorbereid
zijn. Daarnaast zijn er nog juridische
onzekerheden zoals de vraag of de
omzetting naar de Euro onze klanten
binnen en buiten Europa de mogelijkheid
geeft om ook over andere aspecten van
bestaande contracten te onderhandelen.
Ook de vraag of de Europese Centrale Bank
rente gaat vergoeden over de bij haar aan
te houden deposito's,zoals De
Nederlandsche Bank, is nog niet
beantwoord. Vast staat echter wel dat wij
onze klanten moeten informeren over de
komende wijzigingen. Dit kan door het
houden van bijeenkomsten, het uitgeven
van brochures en het eventueel opzetten
van een Euro-consultancy team.
What's NewS will be publishing regular
updates on progress - keep watching this
space.
30 Rabobankers joined the first-ever export
finance seminar held last month with two
goals in mind: the first is teambuilding, an
essential element in this type of product as,
by definition, it clearly involves cross-border
cooperation. The second is exchanging
know-how, an equally crucial element.
According to the participants - who came
from all over the network - the most
interesting aspects in the seminar were on the
mechanics of export finance. A presentation
approach has been selected for this particular
gathering, but recommendations for a more
active form of info and know-how exchange,
ie. through workshops, has been proposed
for what will certainly become a regular
event on our calendar.
Trom left to right: Peter Knoblanche
(Australia); Jan Bausch, Henk Lijs, Willem
van 't Hooft (branch Utrecht); Izabel
Salvucci (Brazil); Arnoud Dokkum branch
UtrechtStuart Barrowcliff (New York);
Francisco Riedl, Adrian Aguilera (Mexico);
Caroline van Seumeren (branch Utrecht);
Chaidir Anwar Sani (Indonesia); Engel
Manfred Schneider FrankfurtLing Tsou
(New York); Vincent Granados (Paris);
Marnix van Iterson (Buenos Aires).
Koolhaas (branch Utrecht); Roland van
Limburg Stirum (Milano); Jan Berntssen
(branchUtrecht); Klaas Evert Engelse
(Malaysia); Mare Roex (branch Utrecht);
