ORGANIGRAM Long look Goodyear Two roles Sector focus Significant future When the positioning paper was writ- ten, Rabobank International had just emerged frorn one of the most turbulent periods in its relatively short life. Says Ralf Dekker, 'The last thing people needed was more turbulenee. After three years of drastic changes, with mergers on the close horizon, only to disappear, and a shift of former RI activities to the Group, we needed a period of stability. lt was time to take a long, calm look at RI and what we were doing with it. The positioning paper did just that. It posi- tioned what products we put into what markets, how management structures should work and what was expected of us. It further resolved a number of con- tradictions and inconsistencies, but it was not a "new" strategy.' The period of stabilization was not only welcome, but also proved highly effec- tive. Results have improved consider- ably, culminating in a very good year for RI in 200 ICosts were driven down. In- ternal cooperation has increased. How- ever, now that we have gone through this quiet, steady evolution from Rabobank Group 'problem child' to mature contributor to the bottom line, people are feeling the need for some 'Strategie considerations'. Although no one wants changes in strategy every year, regular appraisals of and possible adjustments to our focus help trans- parency and stimulate efforts. If you were to take a snapshot of RI today, then what you wou ld see is an organization which, for the first time ever, is truly international. Although 'Utrecht' continues to play a major role in the life of international Rabobankers, it is more corporate than in the past. The vast majority of international Rabobankers are now at work in over 30 countries where we are active. We have two main roles within the Rabobank organization. The first is the provision of banking services for corpo rate clients outside the Netherlands (the former RI Netherlands and its cus- tomers joined Utrecht-based Corporate Clients on I January, 2002). The second is the development and provision of professional banking products, also in the Netherlands. That is our mandate and in essence, nothing has changed in these roles. Nor have there been changes in the sec tors we service. Food and Agribusiness (F&A) is still top focus. We are increas- ingly positioned in global markets as an international F&A financial services provider, with Telecom Media Internet (TMI) as a secondary focus. On the product side, there are the financial mar kets and structured finance products, categories which have their own dynam- ics and are especially geared to financial markets and professional counterparties. In addition, we gear many products, such as Mergers Acquisitions (M&A), structured trade and commod- ity finance, and Food and Agricultural Research (FAR), to our F&A corporate clients. Again, nothing new. If you are beginning to wonder whether it is worth continuing to read about all the things that have not changed, then bear with us. In the past RI was not only often seen as a 'problem child', it was also perceived as something of a step- child or outsider. Rabobank is very much a domestically oriented, retail- based financial institution. It has, at times, been difficult for the parent to see how RI fits strategically into the long term pattern of Group domestic activi ties. 'Strategie considerations' argues cohesively not only on our place, but also our potential importance for the Group's future. If the goal of a coopera- tive organization is profitability as a tooi to ensure its prime objective, continuity, then RI could represent at least a signifi cant part of that future. The Word I 5

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