Rabobank International
Conference (RICO)
Talking trade
info exchange
This year, the 'General Managers Meeting' will appear in a new
incarnation: the Rabobank International Conference (RICO). Here's a
sneak preview of the revised structure - a discussion platform to
exchange ideas and share our global knowledge.
For four days starting November 1 lth,
some 80 participants will gather in
Noordwijk, the Dutch seaside resort, to
discuss our strategie focus. It will include
a much wider range of participants than
similar meetings held previously.
Participants will include General
Managers, Business Managers, global
Product Managers, plus members of the
Management Teams and Policy
Committees.
DAY ONE
The first day will open with a presentation
by management of the finalized details
regarding our longer-term Customer Focus
Strategy - as well as of the budget with all
the implied priorities with respect to Food
Agri, Health Care, Corporate Banking,
Private Banking and Investment Banking
(to name a few key fields). The RICO
meeting will thus mark the culmination of
a long and intensive process of policy
reformulation that has occupied all of us
for more than a year. There will be fewer
plenary sessions in RICO
than under the old 'General
Managers' format. The aim
overall is to split out into a
series of focus groups, each of
which can serve as a forum for lively
interaction. For example, there will be
sessions focusing on the implications of
the introduction of a common European
currency (the Euro), on the importance of
the millennium computer project, on
changes to our credit risk assessment
procedures, and on future management
development. (Each session will be held
twice in order to keep the number of
attendees on a manageable scale.)
AND THE REST...
On Day Two, there will be a group event,
about which little is being said in advance
except that it is sure to surprise all parties
concerned. Bram Kruimel, who is
coordinating the RICO event, reassures
participants that it will not be 'one of
those survival-type exercises where you
Bram Kruimel, coordinating the new look
RICO event.
have to go out into the woods and hunt
chickens.' There will also be specialized
meetings that bring together smaller
groups to network and discuss items of
common concern, plus a meeting that will
consider performance management,
(which has been designed in conjunction
with the consultants, Towers Perrin).
Finally, on Day Four, we will mark the
official start of our Centenary celebration
with an unusual problem-solving
'management game.' RICO is likely to be
the first of many annual meetings with a
wider array of participants and a more
interactive agenda - a format clearly
reflecting our new strategy and
management structure.
(continued from page 1
The choice of 'conference' rather than
meeting says everything about how RI and
its areas of expertise are growing,
maturing and developing. Trade finance
has always been a key to the bank's
international operations and from quite
early in our history, we have had a basic
framework of specialist know-how around
the world. But the writing on the ITF wall
is clear - every possible option for getting
the best possible structure for the cliënt
must be utilized. And to use these tools,
they have to be known, understood - even
familiar. 'One of the key reasons why
brokers/insurers were among the external
speakers is the ITF global team's need to
minimize risk in often very complex trade
transactions in emerging markets with
high risk profiles,' Gabr explains. 'We
ourselves in Rabobank International
certainly have a lot of expertise in areas
such as forfeiting, securitization hedging,
credit insurance and derivatives. A
conference like this allows us to make full
use of knowledge sharing opportunities.
GLOBAL APPROACH
The International Trade Finance team
currently has units in seven countries. Last
f year, in 1996, a global policy was approved
I which requires the team to achieve a
Shafik Gabr sharing his
trade finance expertise.
turnover target of USD 20 billion in the 1
year 2000. The concomitant income target
to the same deadline is USD 80 million. If
the team is to achieve those goals, then its
focus on adding value for customers is
crucial, especially in an area where
competition is tough, even for some of the
higher risk markets. In line with the tenets
of the customer focus strategy, the ITF
people will also have to shift focus from
providing funds to providing solutions that
will spread the risk. 'We are very much
aware of what the cliënt focus strategy
means,' confirms Gabr. 'Everyone in the
team sees the importance of putting much
more structure into our transactions so that
we end up with a win-win situation - for
the customer and for our bottom line.'
The International Trade Finance Team
publishes a regular newsletter on trends
and deals in its field. If you would like to be
added to the mailing list, please contact
Anita Dramani or Marian van Veenendaal
on +31 30 216 2992/2976.
