deals Wh3t'sNeaS
Cash management for the Dutch government
Structured notes
from NIB
Farmland Industries
Positive results
Rabobank recently captured the biggest
cash management deal to have been
tendered in the Netherlands for the last 30
years: a strategically important mandate
under which we will handle the greater
part of the cash management and
payments of the Dutch government. This
includes income of the Tax Authority, the
cross-border payments traffic for the
Defense Ministry (which exceeds that of
any Dutch corporate customer), and the
entire volume of payments for the other
14 ministries and 25 agencies. The
An already strong relationship with
Farmland Industries, the largest agri-
cultural cooperative in the US, was further
bolstered by the completion of two trans-
actions resulting front cooperation be-
tween our Chicago office and the New
York syndications group. Michelle Tol-
liver, who is relationship manager for
Farmland Flydro, teamed up with Ron
Klein and Nancy O'Connor of NY Syndi
cations to arrange and successfully syndi-
cate a USD 140 million five-year revolving
credit facility. Farmland Hydro (FHLP), a
joint venture between Farmland Industries
and Norsk Hydro, is the sixth largest
Biosphate fertilizer manufacturer in the
TIS. By co-arranging and co-syndicating
remaining flows, being the cross-border
payments of the Foreign Affairs Ministry
and the debit payments of the Tax
Authority, have been granted to ING. Our
bid was prepared by a cash management
services team comprising Jan-Martijn
Rap, Mathieu Besters, Bart Jonkheer and
Jacq Stals. The state will benefit from
quick handling of payments, efficiënt cash
and interest rate management, and an
ability to centrally monitor traffic using
new networking tools provided by Rl.
Rap describes the deal as strategically
the credit, we helped FHLP refinance ex-
isting debt, finance capital outlays, and
pay a one-time special dividend. In a sec-
ond deal, Michael Butz, the relationship
manager for Farmland Industries itself,
teamed up with NY Syndications to com
plete a USD 650 million 364-day revolver
for Farmland. The multi-step syndication
required the addition of several new len-
ders to the bank group as well as specially
tailored pricing terms. The leadership role
we played in both deals helped position us
to win further advisory, capital-raising,
and syndication business now under dis
cussion with the cliënt in connection with
the plan to merge leading agri cooperative
Farmland with Cenex Harvest States.
important, not least in light of its spinoff
potential. It will generate new
relationships with other institutions in the
public domain and there is an excellent
possibility for entree into other Dutch
government contracts.
Tokyo's 8-strong credit trading and
sales team recently sold JPY 3.5
billion of structured notes from the Dutch
insurer NIB. The deal is a further step
towards realizing our ambition to become
a one-stop shop for credit products in
Asia, and in particular Japan, using our
balance sheet as a warehouse rather than
the ultimate risk bearer. Says Pawam
Malik, MD and Head of Asia credit
trading, our success sterns from having a
seamless and fast-moving global trading
business. 'Our most recent structured deal
was originated in Japan, structured in
three and a half weeks with the help of
colleagues in London and New York, and
sold within a fortnight into London,
Luxembourg, New York, and Tokyo
without the bank retaining any risk. We
earned a handsome fee for our efforts.'
Continued from page 14
reaching consequences of FiU membership
on the provision practices in Polish health
care and information on private project fi
nance possibilities evolving in other trend-
setting markets such as the UK. 'The Poles
are disadvantaged by their poor infra-
structure, the lack of available resources,
and limited experience with the models of
health care provision emerging elsewhere
in F.urope,' says Michel van Schaik of
lltrecht, who organized the seminar along
P'ith Warsaw's Michal Milczarek. 'Our
aim is to provide not only financial mar
kets expertise but also to become a gen-
uine player in stimulating the system's
further development, by bringing our
global experience appropriately to bear in
the local context.'
Rabobank Polska's efforts have translated
into an impressive bottom line result, with
a 1998 net ROS add of sonte 4.8 percent,
well above budget targets, and an increase
in net profit of 450 percent (to approx.
PLN 9 million) in comparison with the fig-
ures attained in 1997. 'Regardless of the
uncertainty that surrounds us, this re-
mains a dynamic market in which there is
clearly no shortage of opportunities,' con-
Gients tune in to Rt's health care expertise
cludes David McWilliam. 'As always, our
main task is to select those that best
advance our financial and strategie aims.'