Rabobank Group
%<Iedship Bank
Interpolis
When asked about existing co-
operation, executive director Stein
Arnesen first wants to know which
subsidiary we're most interested in.
Nedship Bank, it appears, is either
already working with or involved in
what Arnesen calls a 'constructive
dialogue'with most sister organi-
zations. The Rotterdam-based ship
finance specialist has a modest
network in the world's major ports
^pspecially London, New York and
Singapore, and is very closely
connected to RI's corporate and
structured finance teams.
Profitable business
Product development
Pilot project
Product placement
The Group's insurer is a crucial
component in the Allfinanz concept. It
is active in all areas of assurance, thus
local bank customers can arrange
anything they may need, from home,
life or even holiday insurance through
Rabobank. In terms of core focus, at
first sight Interpolis, with its almost
exdusively domestic orientation, may
seem a far cry from RI's niche markets.
Not so, according to Rutger Groot,
project manager for international
business development.
European development
This is a special year for Nedship
Bank. Ir marks the first centenary of
the ship mortgager which emerged at
around the same time as the early co-
operative banks. For ntuch of its history,
Nedship provided finance to all sectors in
the Netherlands and other European
markets as well as maintaining a large
merchant portfolio. Increasingly, as the
numbers of new vessels declined follow-
ing world market overcapacity in the
1970s and 1980s, Nedship turned its
attention to the second-hand market, and
the early I990s also began the process
of building a reputation more as an
intermediary than a plain vanilla mort-
gage lender. It is this development which
brings Nedship into contact with
Rabobank (its parent since 1986), more
specifically RI and its subsidiaries.
'In many ways we're in the same business
as RI,' says Arnesen. 'You specialize in
food and agribusiness, we're specialized
in the means of transporting these pro-
ducts. We have the same network. For
example, our core clients are often supply
chain partners of Rabobank clients. So
our feeling now is that it would be pro
fitable for us to work even more closely.
I.et's face it, financing and servicing
^^hipping is a profitable business for
^P^anks. Our competition, such as Chase
and Citibank, is extremely professional in
delivery. What we need most is a wider
product range.'
c
Nedship executive director, Stein Arnesen
Nedship's team already works closely with
people like Willem 't Hooft and Sipko
Schat. 'We're now discussing similar
cooperation with both London and New
York,' confirms Arnesen. 'Structured
derivatives is an area where we're esta-
blishing relationships. We'd also like to
develop asset management products for
customers with strong liquidity.' Ac-
cording to Arnesen, Nedship has been
heavily involved in a 'constructive
dialogue' with DLL in Dublin on Irish
lease products, there is also a solid plat
form with Robert Halcrow's people in
London. Nedship has already done a
number of significant deals in which
Arnesen says 'we source and market, they
assist with structuring and administering
the transaction.'
Nedship recently did its first securitization
deal in Hong Kong. 'That was a great
cooperation between Paul Chang, then
with RI, and our May Tung,' he continues.
Nedship is hoping to securitize its inland
shipping portfolio in the first half of I 999
to free up solvency. And, not enough for
the comparatively small Nedship team,
Arnesen then launches into a concise
overview of what they are doing in capital
markets, also a new area of interest for
them. 'We are involved in a treasury pilot
project in New York as well,' he adds.
'This includes a total return swap to
enable customers to change interest
payments from fixed to floating. Develo-
ping a pilot like this brought us close to
the treasury people at RI New York.'
He mentions the creation of so-called
limited partnerships with the Holland-
based private bank Schretlen as
something that has not been done
recently, but which is an interesting
opportunity. Klaas Veen of Schretlen said
something similar. Nedship is also talking
to Robeco. 'We really need a distribution
network if we are to place products like
this in the market,' Arnesen concludes.
'This is a tax-efficient product and it can
certainly expand the range on offer not
only to our clients, but also to our
subsidairies. All concerned can benefit
from this type of synergy.'
CTt may seem difficult to find synergies
Xbetween Interpolis and RI,' he says.
'Yet there are areas where both can - and
do - cooperate. It's all about contacts. By
tapping into each other's cliënt bases, we
both increase our networks.' The most
obvious example of successful cooperation
comes from Australia, a market that is
unique to RI in its primary banking slant.
In their efforts to offer a range of banking
services to their clients, our people called
in two of Interpolis' business development
managers, Jos Rovers and Kees
Diepstraten. Working closely with PIBA's
managing director, Bev Wakers, they
identified a risk management product - the
PIBA Mortgage Protection Policy - to suit
the specific needs of Australian farmers.
Both Luxemborg and Portugal are other
markets where, in a way, Interpolis picks
up where RI left off. 'In Luxemborg we
are reliant on RI for support and access to
their cliënt base,' continues Groot. 'And
