Strategie selection - building the
regional business
regional focus
Since the purchase of the Primary
Industry Bank of Australia in
1994, Rl in Australia and New
Zealand has come a very long way.
Over the following pages top play-
ers in the region offer insight into
the details of their success and an
update on current activities.
Busy as bees
Natural progression
Effective organization
Going for gold
What'sNewS Issue 4 July/August 2001
When it comes to this region's cliënt
base, it's really about the crème de
la crème. Whether it's a question of rural
or corporate, the key here is that clients
are virtually 100% F&A and always in
the top ranks. A dedication to meeting
customer's needs has made these relation-
ships successful and profitable; those ties
will grow stronger with the introduction
of new IT systems in the coming months.
Says Rob Hartog, deputy CEO, Aus-
tralia/New Zealand, 'Whether it's the tra
ditional farmer or the major corporates,
we're there all across the supply chain. We
know what our clients want and need be-
cause we take the time to know them on
an intimate level. That means we also
know that we're
working with the
right people, building
our reputation in the
region at the right
level. That is about
top quality, top serv
ices, and being the
top F&A financial in-
stitution in the re
gion.'
Rob Hartog
In corporate banking,
enormous growth has taken place in the
last two and a half years since RI launched
the restructure of the business into corpo
rate banking and product lines. Operating
out of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth
Andrew Davison
'Iem
and Auckland (New Zealand), RI's corpo
rate teams in the region have managed to
land top companies in virtually every
F&A sector. In terms of results, this year's
gem to date has been M&A activity, with
the six-strong M&A team completing a
number of major F&A trans-
actions. This includes the sale
of two businesses for a fertil-
izer company, a number of
strategie advisory projects
with a Chinese malting com
pany (in cooperation with RI
Hong Kong), the acquisition
bv a Spanish beverage com
pany of the majority in an
Australian wine company (to-
gether with RI Madrid), and
two joint projects with off
shore offices, one of which
was the sale of a business to
long-standing Dutch cliënt Nutreco.
Andrew Davison, managing director of
the corporate clients group, cites this suc
cess as part of a natural evolution. 'With a
number of very exciting transactions still
in the pipeline for this year, we will be see-
ing substantial rewards by year's end,' he
says. 'These results are real evidence of
our commitment to be successful in this
market. We started in the corporate advi
sory market in 1999, and it's
taken some time for our business
to mature. Gaining the trust and
building the right reputation
doesn't happen overnight. But
we're definitely getting there as
our portfolio in the first half of
this year shows.'
Product teams are organized
around the customer, so that each
cliënt has a dedicated team to
meet its needs. In structured fi-
nance for example, two teams have been
created to serve unique purposes. One
team is dedicated to F&A clients, the
other caters to professional markets - such
as other banks or financial institutions.
Quite an effective set-up, it seems. 'When
people know where they need to focus,
when they have clear targets, they are bet
ter at what they do,' Davison explains.
'The F&A team's goal is to continually
add value to our F&A clients - it isn't to
chase the quickest buck.
This team offers struc
tured receivable finance,
acquisition finance, debt
arranging, structured in-
ventory financing, and so
on. Everyone knows what
they are there to do, and
they can leverage those
activities off each other.'
Contributing to this pic
ture is a focus on the total
income generated from a
relationship, not just on
credit products. 'This
means our people are delivering the total
product package to clients, not just the
products that historically effect personal
gain.'
Looking ahead, the region's corporate
banking teams will focus on the following
objectives:
- target the Australian wine industry,
which is experiencing a serious amount
of consolidation. In this capital intensive
market, companies experience significant
balance sheet pressure where RI can play
a role;
- expand relationships where little more
than loan-funding is done. Think of
smarter ways to fund loans, or come up
with other products to take to the cliënt
that he/she doesn't presently use;
- develop a product-line approach in
treasury markets, foreign exchange,
interest rates, capital markets. Resources
have been increased and new people
have been recruited in order to stream-
line product offerings into an integrated
strategy.
- continue to increase the M&A presence.
Regional update continues over the page...
