Dublin Office at Critical Mass
12
info exchange
WHAT'S NewS Issue 4 April 1997
Our Dublin office has now moved into new and spacious premises, just two and
a half years after being granted a full banking license in Ireland, and our initial
thrust onto that market.
doubled in the past year to around NLG
10 billion. 'On the treasury side, we have
become increasingly prominent through
our corporate and institutional service and
we recently started trading in Irish Gilts.
Our International Banking activities have
also expanded and our Domestic
Corporate Banking business, working
together with specialists throughout the
network, has been particularly successful
in bringing a number of our investment
banking products to our core Irish
customer group.'
ORGANIC GROWTH
Weulen Kranenberg believes that, having
reached a critical mass, 'our future growth
is guaranteed through the development of
specific niches in line with the bank's
overall global strategy.' This organic
growth will be partly funded by NLG
1 billion European Commercial Paper
(ECP) programme, recently approved by
Irish regulatory authorities.
Our Dublin dealing room, one of the
larger in Ireland, remains actively involved
in a whole range of treasury products.
Meanwhile, the International Banking
division has been actively marketing
structured finance deals, which focus on
bringing added value to our customers
and ourselves through investment and
financing products. Notable successes
were What's NewS 'Deal of the Month'
and, over the past two years, the
establishment and operation of IFSC
operations, which have certain fiscal
advantages, for several major corporate
clients.
Meanwhile, Corporate Banking is using
The Dublin Management Team consists of
(from left to right) Jim Pender, Nigel
McDonagh, Deirdre HanniganFergus
Murphy and Ruurd Weulen Kranenberg.
The February move marks a symbolic end
to this start-up phase and heralds the
beginning of an exciting new period of
consolidation and expansion - one that
involves not only Rabobank Ireland Ltd,
but our De Lage Landen leasing and
Interpolis insurance arms as well. The
15,000 sq. ft new office at George is part
of a recently completed development at
the international Financial
Services Centre (IFSC).
EXCELLENT RELATIONSHIP
On hand to formally open the new facility
was Ruairi Quinn, Ireland's Minister for
Finance. He reiterated Ireland's delight at
our presence in Dublin and spoke of his
government's continuing commitment to
'removing obstacles to growth'.
Also on hand to mark the occasion was
our Deputy Chairman Wouter Kolff as
well as Ruurd Weulen Kranenberg, the
General Manager. Kolff was full of praise
for our 'excellent relationship' with Irish
authorities. 'From a modest beginning,
Rabobank Ireland has in less than three
years become one of the larger banks in
Ireland and one of the more extensive and
sophisticated banking operations
established as part of the IFSC.'
He added that 'our confidence in Ireland
as a location for an important part of our
European business development has been
well justified.'
Weulen Kranenberg pointed out that
Rabobank Ireland's total assets heve
NIEUW KANTOOR
VOOR RABOBANK
DUBLIN
Rabobank Dublin is
onlangs verhuisd naar een nieuw, ruim
kantoor. De vestiging in Ierland begint
hiermee aan een spannende tijd van
consolidatie en uitbreiding. De Ierse
minister van financiën Ruairi Quinn was
aanwezig om te assisteren bij de
openingshandeling van het nieuwe
gebouw. Ook Rl vice-voorzitter Wouter Kolff
en directeur Ruurd Weulen Kranenberg
namen hieraan deel.
expertise garnered from throughout our
global network. Recent examples include
a transaction arranged together with our
New York Branch for Ireland's Electricity
Supply Board (ESB) and a second deal
arranged together with De Lage Landen
for one of the world's largest paper and
packing companies. Corporate Banking is
actively promoting its knowledge in the
Food &C Agribusiness to large
internationally-oriented clients.
There has been extensive cross-
fertilization among our subsidiaries in
Ireland. Dublin-based Interpolis is
providing a wide range of services
including reinsurance (where it
underwrites both group and third party
risks), captive management (the provision
of risk management vehicles), and credit
insurance. De Lage Landen Ireland has
expanded its cross-border leasing activities
into the domestic cliënt base of our
Corporate Banking division as well.
We have made a substantial commitment
to Ireland and we will continue to use our^
expertise to increase our presence as a
client-focused, knowledge-driven
enterprise that offers value to our
customers through a full range of financial
products and services,' says Weulen
Kranenberg.
(continued from page 2)
INVESTMENT BANKING
In our March issue we have caused some
misunderstanding in quoting Walter van
Mieghem on his combined job as head of
treasury products for Utrecht Branch and
Rabobank Antwerp. Walter has not been
designated a global product manager for
investment banking, but together with Theo
van Koningsveld he will support Jan Haars,
who is temporary global product manager
for FX and money markets.
EURO VIDEO
An English version of the publication
'Business Implications of the EMU'and the
video 'Operation Euro'are now available at
Marketing Rl +31-30/216 28 04.This video
production will fill you in on what Rabobank
is doing to facilitate the introduction of the
euro on a number of levels, all in 12 minutes.