RI Poland on healthy ground
'i:
country pro file
In the ten years since its establishment, and later full acquisition by Rabobank
International (RI), Rabobank Polska SA has chalked up some impressive
achievements. And while Russia and much of the rest of Eastern Europe are
only slowly emerging from the doldrums that followed on the wake of last
year's financial turbulence, our Polish office has seen a profusion of profitable
business opportunities.
Leveraging expertise
Seizing opportunities
Information exchange
Full service
What'sNewS Issue 7-July 1999
'n terms of profitability per head, we
.rank among the top ten foreign banks
in Poland,' says David McWilliam, general
manager. 'A recent survey placed us in the
nance (including mergers and acquisitions
(M&A) and agri-project finance team
(APFT)), treasury, foreign exchange and
derivatives, syndications, securitization,
trade finance and the rest. Four out of five
of Rabobank Polska's clients are in the
F&A sector, where we cover all points on
the food chain from primary agriculture -
financing large scale industrial farms with
take-off agreements in place - through
processing companies and eventually the
end consumer via food retailers. 'There is
probably not a single area of the F&A
business which we haven't penetrated,'
says executive vice president and head of
corporate banking Piotr Czarnecki.
'Whether it's potatoes or poultry, farm
feeds or edible oils, grain or consumer
products, our Polish office has a leading if
not the primary position as a service
provider to key clients, both domestic and
international.'
For example, we recently acted as an advi-
sor in one of the first hostile takeover wars
on the Polish market. In a
hotly-contested bid, our cliënt,
the family-owned Camofrio
group of Spain, leading player
on the red meat market, suc-
ceeded in its takeover of the lo-
cal meat processor, Morliny.
We were responsible for origi-
nating and executing the deal,
using sophisticated M&A and
APFT expertise both within
Poland and from other areas
of the network, and succeeded
in dramatically broadening our
clients' presence on the Eastern
European market. 'This was
an excellent marriage of indus-
try knowledge and customer
intimacy,' McWilliam says. Similarly, we
have been working in partnership with
Monsanto of the US, a leading global agri-
chentical and life sciences group, on an in-
tegrated farming project which will trans-
form the way food is produced. In a re-
lated deal, we have also arranged a special
tailor-made vehicle for financing the re-
ceivables of Monsanto dealers, primarily
medium-sized companies.
Meanwhile, a host of opportunities are
emerging on the health care market as
well; it is currently undergoing a radical
transformation and economie
liberalization in the run-up to Polish
membership in the EU slated for the year
2003. Poland's 39 million citizens spend
almost 7.4 percent of their GDP on health
care - the equivalent of USD 4 billion -
and the Polish government has taken a
far-reaching decision to transform the
health care system from a centralized and
tax-financed model to a more
decentralized and privately-financed one.
The new health insurance law came into
effect in January, and Rabobank Polska,
working together with health care
professionals in Utrecht, has been quick to
grasp the associated opportunities.
For example, in May, we invited top rep-
resentatives of all sickness funds and othe:
involved parties to a seminar on financial
From left to right: David McWilliam, Dariusz Ledworowski,
Piotr Czarnecki, and Paul Nash sharing insight
markets and on the opportunities linked
with using complex financial instruments.
We also provided an insight into the far-
continued on page 19
David McWilliam of Rabobank Polska S4
top three in terms of dynamism, and
ranked the quality of our portfolio at
number one.' Rabobank Polska SA has
benefited enormously from the unique RI
specialization in the core food and
agribusiness (F&A) sector, particularly in
a country where fully 25 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP) is generated by
F&A. The prevailing economie climate,
far from stagnant, has been increasingly
fresh and salubrious as well. In June the
country rating for Poland was upgraded
by Standard Poors to BBB. Inflation is
continuing its downward trend and a GDP
growth rate of 4 percent is forecast for the
whole of this year.
The 95-strong office, with a principal
presence in Warsaw and office in Poznan,
boasts a full complement of professionals
in corporate banking and corporate fi-
