Senior development
in brief
contents
Rabobank
i Mm
Monthly newsletter for Rabobank International fof UltCmol US€ Oflly Issue 6 June 1998
Hungary for the Euro
International
Risky approval
Another month of
global networking
What'sNewS
Arthur Arnold
Rik van Slingelandt
In light of accelerating developments in Europe and the need to
consolidate and build on our position as significant player in
the EMU bloc, the Executive Board has appointed R. Arthur
Arnold as Director Strategie Cooperation Projects. In his new
role, the former chairman of RI's managing board, will advise
the EB on partnerships in and outside Europe as well as
developing these alliances. His appointment is effective June 4.
For the time being, Rik van Slingelandt, former head of the
international division, and now Executive Board member, will
act as chairman. His first task in this interim role will be to chair
RICO 1998. His plans for keeping current strategy on track are
reported very briefly on page 7. We will be providing full
coverage in our next issue. Please turn to page 7 for more.
Demonstrating our commit-
ment to a smooth transition to
the coming euro era,
Rabobank Hungary together
with Ernst Young, co-
hosted a euro conference
earlier this month. 'That the
nations sharing the single cur-
rency will experience unprece-
dented economie alignment is
undisputed,' says general
■rianager Tamas Simonyi, 'but
Triere is no denying that the
euro will also have a serious
impact on non-participating
countries, such as Hungary.
Our euro seminar was an
opportunity to share with our
customers the knowledge we
have gained so far.' Over 150
top clients from the Hungarian
business community attended
the conference. Aside from a
Rabobank presentation
explaining how we intend to
work with the coming euro,
professor Tamas Bacskai from
the Budapest University of
Economics spoke about the
possibilities of Hungary join-
ing the EMU. Deputy presi-
feeut of the National Bank of
Hungary discussed the Central
Bank's renewed foreign
exchange policy and the presi
dent of Asea Brown Bovert
Ltd. speculated the various
problems Hungarian multina
tionals will face with the com
ing single currency. 'The cliënt
feedback and press coverage
were both positive,' Simonyi
concludes. 'It was a great suc-
cess in proving that we are
concerned about the effect of
the euro - and that even as a
non-participating country, we
are ready for it.'
Rabobank has received formal
approval from the Dutch
Central Bank (DNB) for the
use of our in-house risk model
to determine capital charge
(and part of the BIS-ratio cal-
culations). Many large banks,
including Rabobank, use sta-
tistical models to calculate the
day-to-day market risks
incurred; whether a bank may
use its own model depends,
among other things, on the
organization of its risk man
agement and the soundness of
the models. To create unity,
each internal risk model has to
comply with a set of rules and
regulations (often referred to
as BIS or CADII regulations)
which are
constantly judged and moni-
tored by the Dutch Central
Bank. Recent internal risk
model approval stated that our
figures as of January 1998
could be used for capital
charge calculations, placing
Rabobank, together with ABN
Amro and ING, among the
first banks in Europe to do so.
An achievement which is a
result of worldwide teamwork
within the market risk organi
zation. 'We're not finished
though,' explains Theo
corporate bond portfolios.'
The DNB contact team, also
consisting of Karen Walter,
Elles Jongenelen and Patrick
Schenkhuizen, views these pro
jects as exciting challenges for
the department, 'both from
conceptual and IT points of
view,' concludes Koeken.
Working relations - Brazilian
coffee 3
Global conference - sustainability 4
Global product manager -
BUI Cuthbert on STIR business plan 70
Corporate finance CAM concept -
unveiling new initiatives 13
APFT- Western Europe roadshow 14
Talking heads - Hans van
Griethuysen on knowledge 16
Koeken, head of central
market risk. 'DNB is closely
monitoring progress on several
other issues, including innova-
tive models for specific risk on
Making our internal risk model
sound, Ie ft to right: Karen Walter,
Patrick Schenkhuizen,
Elles Jongenelen and Theo Koeken.
