Targeting trade finance in Hamburg
network update
12 What'sNewS Issue 9- September 1998
Hamburg has a long history in trade. As home to Europe's second largest
seaport, the German city poses the perfect fit for ever internationalizing
Rabobank. This in mind, Rabobank Hamburg has recently been lined up as the
centre of competence for trade, structured trade and commodity finance
activities German-wide.
Niche focus
Coffee break
Vital link
Second to none
Although relatively small, the 10-
strong Hamburg team think big. In
line with the Rabobank mandate,
Hamburg is set to go beyond German
borders and, with the support of
Frankfurt, generate structured finance
business globally. Hamburg advanced
from branch status over a year ago fol-
lowing the strategie decision to coordinate
all corporate banking activities from
Frankfurt. In turn, today's Hamburg is
responsible for all
Frankfurt's trade
finance processing
functions. 'We are
a close-knit team,'
according to head
of Hamburg oper-
ations, Jürgen
Buchfink.
'Rabobank and its
trade finance func-
tion has been
active in Hamburg
for a long time.
Through its port
activities,
Hamburg has
access to the
whole world
and the city has
always been internationally orientated.
What is new for our team is our
approach, the way we are looking at busi
ness in a more global fashion. We are con-
centrating on becoming an integral part of
the Rabobank network and using it to
generate more business.'
The port of Hamburg functions as a dis-
tribution centre and point of dispatch for
German imports and exports, around 10
percent (DEM 64 billion) of all German
imports and 5 percent (DEM 37 billion)
of exports are transacted through
Hamburg-based financial institutions, nat-
urally making competition fierce. But it is
Head Jürgen Buchfink opening trade
doors for the Hamburg team
also proving to be an environ
ment in which customer-focused
Rabobank excels. 'Trading com-
panies by their very nature are
globally focused,' continues
Buchfink, 'in fact there's not a lot
of difference between the mar
kets they function in - be it Asia
or America. What is important
for us is to concentrate on the
service we provide. Rabobank's
F&A niche fits per-
fectly into our activi
ties here in Hamburg,
we have had no
problem adjusting to the strat-
egy - it is one that comes nat-
urally to us.'
Adhering to our core F&A
focus, Rabobank Hamburg
concentrates on soft commodi-
ties - in particular green cof
fee, sugar, grain, oilseeds and
foodstuffs. One of the world's
leading coffee giant's, the
Neumann Group, is just one
of the clients making
up Hamburg's port
folio. Although the
company has operative sub-
sidiaries the world over, the
holding is located in Hamburg.
'We focus on working together
with our customers,' says trade
and commodity finance's Claudia
Beilken. 'As an example, the cof
fee study recently produced by
F&A research was checked
before publication by our cliënt.
It highlights the trust we share in
one another and proves the win-
win relationship we have. Plus
the mutual work on the coffee
study had the added advantage of illus-
trating Rabobank's expertise and sound
view of the market.' Proving how fruitful
Focusing on customers,
trade and commodity
finance's Claudia Beilken
Pushing the limits,
forfaiting and risk
distribution's
Burkhard Hedrich
and positive our network contacts can be,
on behalf of the Neumann Group, the
Hamburg team is busy working on devel-
oping mutual opportunities with
Rabobank Brazil and Mexico. 'We are
building on our network base,' continues
Beilken, 'because it's so important to have
someone on-ground who knows the mar
ket. This combined
cross-selling approach
shows how enormous
our potential is.'
Part of the customer V
focus equation is the
ability to serve clients
from all regions of the
world. Indeed,
Hamburg cliënt and
multi-national grain
giant, AC Toepfer,
remarked that wherever
they opened an office -
even in remote corners
of the globe - Rabobank was never far
behind. 'We are known to go where the
production is. And clearly our customers
appreciate it,' but, continues Buchfink,
there is room for improvement. 'Traders
have no problem marketing goods, no
matter where they are grown, as long as
they are in a position to secure quantities.
This commodity exchange is where we
badly need the network. And I'm not talk™
ing lip-service here,' Buchfink emphasizes,
'for us, and for our customers, the net
work is a vital link - and one that needs
strengthening. With such
F&A resources at our fin-
gertips, the Rabobank
network can - and must -
be put to good use. We
are operating in interna
tional business which
means we need an inter
national approach. We
need the network, we
need to feel we have sup
port out there,' he con-
cludes.
Buchfink remarks that
both customers and local
German institutions (who make up
Hamburg's competition) are aware that
Rabobank's F&A expertise is second to
