Investment Banking RaboOlsen WHAT'S NewS Issue 10 November 1997 info exchange 15 holdings, individual risk profiles, different jeporting requirements and varying Bgulatory restraints. 'Every customer is different and we seek to serve them in a tailored way,' remarks Marcel Vernooy. ADDING VALUE To date, Rabo Olsen has aimed its service primarily at the Dutch institutional market. 'Holland is a very small country with a huge asset base invested abroad and represents an ideal market in which to begin,' Dijkstra says. However, as the pace of globalization proceeds, the ambition is to reach corporate customers and the increasingly important institutional investor base throughout the network worldwide. 'We're making contact with colleagues throughout the organization and spreading the news that currency overlay is an important way that we can provide our ^ïstomers with value-added,' Dijkstra says. Rabo Olsen can be contacted on the following address and telephone numbers: Rabo Olsen Global Overlay Strategies Croeselaan 18 3521 CB Utrecht The Netherlands Tel +31 30 216 3481 Fax+31 30 216 3479 Internet: dijkstra@rabo-olsen.com FX Impact on stocks The graph at right shows that for a Dutch guilder-hased stock investor, the average influence of fluctuations in exchange rates on the total tnonthly performance of the MSCI World Index is 43% with a Standard deviation of 26%. Global Overlay Strategies THE CURRENCY INFLUENCE ON THE MONTHLY PERFORMANCE OF THE JP MORGAN WORLD INDEX EX HOLLAND (AUGUST 1991 THROUGH FEBRUARY 1997) ffpB Stock Influence Currency Influence FX Impact on bonds RELATIVE DISTRIBUTION OF THE CURRENCY INFLUENCE ON THE MONTHLY PERFORMANCE OF THE JP MORGAN WORLD INDEX EX HOLLAND (AUGUST 1991 THROUGH FEBRUARY 1997) 9 The figures above indicate the percentage of all monthly returns in which the currency influence on the total performance of the index was: <10% 10%-29% 30%-69% 70%-99% 100% (continued from page 5) PRODUCT MANAGEMENT All this cannot be done without some significant internal reorganization. In today's deregulated markets, for example, it is no longer cost-effective to duplicate funding or trading capacity in each or even most branches. Customers too, want to see the full, not just local product range from us. Accordingly, a global product management structure will be introduced. Under the existing set-up most branches in the network essentially operate as self- contained units when it comes to their trading/investing activities and related support units. Henceforth, as von Ungern- Sternberg explains, 'we will run our trading operations out of whichever key market offers the greatest liquidity and the most information about what's going on ^Athe product concerned. For example, wew York will run the global dollar swap book. These centres of competence will make their knowledge and products available to branches throughout the net. The branches will meanwhile concentrate on relationship management, origination, product distribution and credit assessment. They will access a wider product range from the whole network than before.' (This process will be actively managed by recently-installed global product managers.) MIRRORING CHANGES The above strategy will only succeed if the front-office reorganization described above is mirrored by corresponding changes in the currèntly highly decentralized support infrastructure. For example the IT, Settlement and Accountancy functions will exert more centralized control to ensure that the cost base is kept under control and monitored in detail on a monthly basis. Von Ungern- Sternberg dismisses the occasionally expressed concern that the outcome of the investment banking thrust will be to produce a bank within a bank. 'The effect will be quite the reverse,' he insists. 'The global product management structure will produce a more customer-driven, integrated bank in which everyone is a stakeholder in mutual success. Just as any corporation has a logistical system, so will Rabobank International,' he concludes. 'Instead of splitting the bank, the global product structure will actually weave it much closer together.' In brief AUSTRALIA - SPREADING OUT DOWNUNDER Business is booming in Australia, with a total of five new offices sprouting up around the country's thriving agricultural areas.Atemporary office has been functioning for over nine months in New South Wales'largest irrigation town, Griffith - the permanent office promises to be a few weeks away from opening. Newest to open its doors in New South Wales was an office in Goulburn, May this year. In the cane growing region of Mackay a new Rabobank office opened four months ago, while another opened its doors in the cotton growing region of Moree.ln Queensland an additional office was opened in April in lngham,an area known for its rapid sugar industry expansion.

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blad 'What's news' (EN) | 1997 | | pagina 15