North American
treasure hunt
•Lfi
in brief
contents
V
Rabobank
Monthly newsletter for Rabobank International fot intCmOl US6 OtllV Issue 5 May 1998
i
Australia's healthy outlook
International
Pooling Unico pages
What'sNewS
When 140
Rabobankers
gathered last March in New
York for the annual North
fckmerican planning meeting,
they were in for a surprise.
Norrnally, these events involve
an entire day of painstakingly-
prepared presentations. This
time, partieipants found them-
selves embarking on a treasure
hunt in the streets of
Manhattan. Groups were
''5».
I
assigned
a series of
riddles that they could only
solve by working in tandem,
and the first team to solve
their list of tasks won the
event. This seemingly light-
hearted exercise had a serious
purpose. Reinier Mesritz,
North
America's
general
manager pointed
out during his morning
presentation that 'we're trans-
forming our business into one
that provides solutions rather
than just individual products.
To succeed, we're going to
have to learn to interact a lot
better in teams.' To this end.
The Australian health care
industry is fit and well
thanks to the launch of
Rabobank's medical
equipment finance unit, Rabo
•lealth Care Financial
ervices. 'The diversification
into health care is in line with
our global strategy of
beconting a niche player in the
health care market,' says
Equipment Financing Unit
managing director Eric Shaw.
The health care market
worldwide accounts for over
USD 2.2 billion in expenditure
on an annual basis, around 2
percent of that representing
Australia's contribution. A
small percentage admittedly,
although still significant in an
industry experiencing a
growth rate of over seven
percent annually. 'The
Australian health care
•ndustry is highly regulated
eith government dominating
all levels of funding,' continues
Shaw. 'It is one of the most
advanced industries in terms
of technology and information
systems. Aside from being an
exciting market, it is also one
of the more stable from a risk
point of view.' The team,
headed by Peter Raines, is
initially set to concentrate on
Peter Raines, head of Rabo Health
Care Financial Services (left) and
Eric Shaw, managing director of
Rabo Eguipment Financing Unit
selected market segments,
including medical research,
hospitals, specialists and
health care for the elderly.
Within these areas, Rabo
Flealth Care Financial Services
will be working with leading
equipment vendors such as
Philips, Siemens, Johnson
Johnson and Leica Instruments
to ntake the latest technology
in medical equipment available
with innovative financial
merchandising programs.
Agreement has been reached
between treasurers of nine
Unico member banks on
developing a series of interna]
dealing sereens. The idea
behind the arrangement is that
Unico members can first deal
within the Group before
approaching the wider
marketplace. During the next
few rnonths, a Private Pages
Network on Reuters will be
established to provide listings
of real-time quotes on money
market facilities in DM and
USD. RI is also looking at
incentives to ensure full use is
made of this arrangement.
According to Bill Cuthbert, a
suitable incentive would be the
development of deposit netting
protocols which will enable a
the March gathering focused
on several clear goals. The
most important is to cut
North America's credit-
related income as a propor-
tion of total revenue-mix from
86 to 68 percent within the
next three years. At the same
time cross-selling income
should rise from 14 percent to
about a third of the total by
2000. 'Our treasure hunt was
a good way to underline the
essential vision behind these
goals, which is to be the most
successful foreign bank in
North America in our chosen
industries,' Mesritz says. 'The
key to success lies in develop
ing a strong team spirit.'
reduction in the capital
required for short term money
market dealing. The Unico
Private Pages Network should
go live eary sunimer.
Wbat's the scoop in
Wbat's NewS this Mayf
Central and Eastern Europe
RICO - country presentations 4
Special - decision-making and
how it works at Rabobank 7
Deal of the month - growing into
Vietnam 17
Media and telecom - new French
connections 14
Corporate finance - reshuffling
priorities 75
Talking heads - Tamas Simonyi
on the hot seat 76
Jm
v
