european financial g merger
ICCREA - new partner
Mutual services
Real terms
Practical moves
What S NewS Issue 4 June/ July 2000 D
Picture left - Hans Smits, Rabobank Group,
Severino Sangiorgi, iCCREA, and Bernd
Thiemann, DG BANK at the signing ceremony
We want to combat that by arranging top
quality services for our customers witli
highly reputable banks around Europe.'
Any of you who know something of the
Unico concept may be wondering how
th is new approach differs from what has,
essentially, been in place for over 20 years
- without making a major mark.
For Kuijpers the answer is institutionaliza-
tion, the integration and embedding of the
concept at every level of participating
banks. 'The basis of what is the step-by-
step construction of a pan-European fi
nancial group is that we create an institu-
tionalized framework to promote and
stimulate our goals,' he says. 'In the fu
ture, we wilt be linking our networks so
that, ultimately, one of our customers can
walk into, say, a German Raiffaisen or
Volksbank and do 'home', ie. Rabobank,
business from there. And vice versa.' Fur-
tlier, in addition to mutual customer ser
vices, partners will be looking for joint
venture and other forms of cooperation to
achieve economies of scale. 'And thirdly,
we will have created a Coordination Plat
form where all partners are represented
and can explore strategie ways forward.'
Within Rabobank International, we have
already begun laving foundations for the
kind of joint venture cooperation envis-
aged by the multi-domestic concept, and
the half share taken by DG BANK in
Rabo Securities is a concrete move in that
direction (see story on page 3). While the
MDC may seern to focus primarily on re-
tail, corporate and investment banking are
seen as key because economies of scale,
volume and, in some cases, placement
power are important for the stability, suc-
cess and growth of the European coopera-
tive group. The pursuit of stability also
underlies the bank-by-bank approach to
establishing this new pan-European insti-
tution. '1 think it is impor
tant,' says Kuijpers, 'for
everyone to realize that
our goal here is not so
much to become pan-Euro
pean for the sake of it.
Rather, our aint is to create
better services for cus
tomers. That means we
will cooperate only when it
really makes a difference,
when it makes sense in real
terms.'
Because all potential partners have their
own specific structures, cultures and sys-
tems, it would prove almost impossible to
push for the creation of the group as a
mass exercise. We have already discovered
the reality of differences between DG and
RI and how that can effect the best laid
plans. With this experience behind us,
Kuijpers believes that we can now move
plans forward so that the envisaged group
will rapidly begin to take on a credible
stature in both the market and in the or-
ganizations concerned. With the Italian
cooperative credit system now joining the
original two-bank group, we are seeing
how it will work in practice. ICCREA
which performs the 'central banking' role
Italy's cooperative movement has a
strong rural base. Like its sister
organizations around Europe, it bas
increasingly become
a full service
provider to all bank
ing segments. Cur-
rently, it has a net-
work of 530 Credit
Cooperative Banks
and Rural Banks
which operate in
over 4,000 locations.
With deposits of
EUR 54 billion, a
loan portfolio of
EUR 38 billion and
four million cus
tomers, the credit cooperatives have
a market share of more than 7%.
for Italian credit cooperatives, and DG
BANK intend to sign a service agreement
by November 2000 and will be working
on a joint-venture concept for service and
consultancy to local cooperative banks by
June 2001. This service will also be open
to other European cooperative partners.
DG BANK will also be providing support
for ICCREA in the development of vari-
ous financial product groups. On our
side, Robeco will be offering asset man
agement support to ICCREA, not least
through channeling investment products
through the Italian cooperative network.
Kuijpers will not be drawn on potential
new joiners in the near future, but is will
ing to concede that talks are ongoing with
a number of cooperative financial institu-
tions around Europe - watch this space
for more.
Building a European bank (from left):
Arnold Kuijpers, Rabobank Nederland:
Berthold Eichwald, DG BANK: Giuliano
Tagliavini, ICCREA, Helmut Pehle, DG BANK:
and Franco Caleffi, Federcasse