Europe's dairy conference
in brief
contents
XV,
Rabobank
French connection
International
Implementing Kondor
An extra fat
research-packed issue
of What's NewS
What'sNewS
Monthly newsletter for Rabobank International for internal use only Issue 11 November 7 998
The dairy industry in
Europe is one of the
biggest and most successful
F&A sectors. lts sheer size is
also an indication of just how
mature the market for its
products has become in the
region. Yet, there are still
countless opportunities for
krowth - opportunities which
'ere recognized early this
month by a dedicated RI
conference attended by more
then 200 sector players from
24 countries. Attracting
speakers from major cor-
porates and organizations such
as Italy's Parmalat, Dairy
Farmers of America and the
New Zealand Dairy Board,
the one-day, intensive event
was opened by Dutch minister
of agriculture and fisheries,
Haijo Apotheker. The event
also offered a top
level occasion to
present the latest
FAR study on this
highly attractive
sector. Copies of
the World Dairy
Market are
available from RI
marketing in
Utrechtfax: +31
30 216 7976.
Dutch minister Apotheker (left) with chairman
Herman Wijfels
For our Paris branch, the grain
sector represents an important
market - perhaps even the
most important. Taking the
grain in customer focus, a
contingent of representatives
from some 30 French grain
cooperatives visited head office
for a Rabobank
overview.
Collectively, the
^Cooperatives
^^ïake up the
bulk of the
Union Finances
Grains (UFG),
a financial
cereal union of
cooperatives
which, according to Paris
branch's Olivier Castera,
'Rabobank already has strong
ties with. We have so far
achieved three credit
enhancement deals giving a
total exposure on the grain
sector of FRF 1.6 billion,
proving we're a strong
combination.' All good
reasons, both UFG and our
Paris branch figured, to get to
^^ïovv one another better. The
two-day Dutch visit, organized
in cooperation with RI
marketing, included
discussions on topics such as
our preparations for the euro
and the evolution of juridical
structures for cooperatives.
F&A's Ben Fiuiskamp offered a
first hand introduction to
Dutch
cooperative
financing
techniques and
Thos Gieskes
presented FAR's
grain study. The
French clients
also hecame
acquainted with
Dutch co
operative Cebeco, whose
financial organization is
something of a shining
example. Hubert Grallet,
UFG's president, con-tinues,
'our sole purpose for existence
is to achieve eco-nomies of
scale and obtain the best
possible rates when financing
our members' storage of
cereals. Rabobank backing,
with its triple-A credit rating,
provides an opportunity to
issue medium-term notes at
particularly attractive rates.
Our visit has given us a more
international perspective on
how other agricultural
cooperative organizations meet
their financing needs.' And it
just so happens that the French
team is in discussion with UFG
for a new financial program.
The managing board has
recently approved the
implementation of Kondor+, a
global front end solution for
STIR and FX. First to kick off
implementation is London
branch, where Kondor+ will
replace the non-euro compliant
Trade Atlas, as well as
providing a front end system
for money markets. 'The
current design of the system
has many modifications from
the original system we first
looked at in 1997,' says STIR
business manager David
Vander. 'The latest design
allows us to run the system on
a global basis with all sites
having access to all data, rather
than just their own trades. This
will substantially inerease the
efficiency of the business and
allow us to monitor risk and
credit on a real time basis over
all sites.' Following successful
implementation in London,
Kondor+'s next destination is
hoped to be Asia.
Relationship managers course
- dient Campina's views 3
Health care - global conference 4
Day in the office - Argentina's
Alejandro Reca 6
Research special - first ofa two-part
knowledge series 7
Euromoney interview managing
board's comments 16
Discipline audit - executing
caution 18
Websitepotential - tapping into
internet initiatives 19
Talking heads - focusing on F&A's
Peter Greenberg 20
i
French clients in Utrecht,
UFG's Franqois Gouesnard (left)
and Hubert Grallet (right)
