Pilots on the Seine
10
france
WHAT'S News Issue 6 June 1997
DISTINCTIVE APPROACH
Denis McHugh had already
mentioned cliënt calling with
relationship managers and
director business development
Nicolas Bazin emphasizes the
need to show customers
Rabobank Paris can offer the
type of products the treasury
department has in mind. But he
also says: These clients are not
natural traders. Nor are they
value-added or structured
product takers, even though
they have large foreign
exchange or interest-rate
exposures. We have certainly
discovered that. Having said
that, this is clearly the kind of
specialty area where we can
make an impact. For example,
we are now in this fiscal equity
provision market. We were able
to do this for a customer a few
years ago in a way that no other
bank could provide. It is value-
added because it is unusual.'
SECTOR
UNDERSTANDING
While not perhaps speculators
by nature, these clients are part
of a major F&A sector. 'It is
also a huge sector in terms of
the French economy,' says
Bazin, 'but it is very
fragmented. You don't find the
massive food and beverage
corporates you find in, say, the
UK. In fact, we are not
targetting the huge
multinationals here - there are
not that many anyway. Which
is why I think your
organization should have a
quarter's positive returns will
have to return every quarter
and every year. 'We're seeing
this as a first step,' says Van
Griethuysen, 'and we're all
highly motivated to maintain
this upward curve. To do that,
we need the network. You
know, we have the Tour de
France finish coming up next
month. We're really going to fl
make a splash with this
because it is a way to build
cliënt relations and name
recognition unlike any other in
France. And we have support
from Utrecht - some of our
executives will be coming
down to be with us on the day.
This is just one example of
how we see the branch. If you
ask where we would like to be
in five years, then the answer is
easy: we want to be the
ultimate networking branch
dedicated to adding customer
value.'
because we understand the
underlying agri-sector.'
Well, perhaps not quite on the river itself, but Yves Morvan and his team
are certainly popular guinea pigs for testing new IT applications and
systems. Paris was among the pilot offices for the Communications
network and has had remote access to Utrecht systems for quite some
time now. Morvan grins when asked why Paris was not only selected
for that pilot, but is also top of the list for testing the new video
conferencing application.'lt was because we complained so much
about Zoomit,' he says.The message here appears to be: if you don't
want to do pilots, don't complain about existing applications. But
Morvan and his two-person team can't wait to try this new
enhancement. 'We'll start with one PC for video conferencing in the
dealing room and see how it works out. We see it as a cost-cutting
exercise.You can save on travel time and expenses, but still see the
person face to face. We'll let you know how it works out.'
PEDAL POWER
Following RI strategy, the Paris
team will continue to pursue
the F&A sector as well as
building on its recent
cooperation with customers
such as the railways and
telecom. Their efforts have
been paying off, but all are
more than aware that the first
From left to right, standing: Mare Sebag - Deputy of the Head of the
Exposure Management Department, Laure Rousselet - Credit
Administration, Claire Auffray - Credit Analyst and sitting from left
to right: Olivier Delesse -F&A, Rudolf Feber - Credit Analyst and
Isabelle Fenies - Credit Administration Officer.
certain level of flexibility so
that it can be adapted to
specific domestic market
conditions. If you look at the
first tier clients, like Danone,
then you find that even though
they sell yoghurt and other
dairy products, they see
themselves as a fast-moving
consumer goods company and
not as a food and agri-
corporate. This is why we tend
to target second-tier F&A
companies, because that is
where we can add value
From left to right:
Nicolas Bazin -
Director Business
Development,
Judith
Communaudat de
Jager - Dutch
Desk Officer,
Olivier Castera -
Account Officer
F&A.
The Information
Technology Team\
Yves Morvan -
Fiead (standing)
and Philippe
Rouviere - Micro
Development.
De Franse F&A markt is heel groot, maar toch gefragmenteerd en kleinschalig. Rabobank Parijs moet zich aanpassen aan deze
marktomstandigheden. Het Parijse team zal zich blijven concentreren op F&A, terwijl ook verder wordt gebouwd aan
samenwerkingsverbanden zoals onlangs met de Franse spoorwegen en Telecom. Intern is er veel aandacht voor de kwaliteit van
het personeel, de mensen worden aangemoedigd zelf aan te geven hoe ze eventueel willen bijscholen. Het Franse team wordt vaak aangewezen als
proefkonijn voor nieuwe systemen - tot genoegen van het team.
