Dear colleagues,
INTRODUCTION
Theme
Sustainahlc Markets:
how Rabobank has
added the planet to its
corporate focus on
people and profit.
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Group News
The time has come for
new wholesalc and
Rabogroup brands.
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It is too early to say anything mean-
ingful about Group performance in
2002. bidications show it was one
of the toughest years for the global
econotny in recent history. However,
the Rabobank Group begins 2003
with cautious optimism. Wbat this
latest downturn has proved decisively
is that the economie playing field is
truly global.
This is not news for RJ, of course.
One ofour key strengths is the ability
to see the market as a global arena.
We will continue to build strongly on
the global, networked foundations we
have been putting in place. At the
same time, we will be boming in on
the local expertise we have built. Our
latest entry into country banking, this
time in the western region of the US,
is a clear indication of how we plan
to leverage our local corporate know
how to grow and expand into other
areas of Food and Agribusiness (F&A).
In doing so, we are also looking to
incorporate our commitment to sus-
tainability - a commitment which has
been turned into action, as you will
see from the Theme in this issue of
The Word.
Our new Group Chairman, Bert
Heemskerk, is on board now and two
other appointments have been made:
Piet van Schijndel of Interpolis, our
insurer, and Piet Moerland, who has
broad experience in all aspects of the
domestic organization, have joined
the Executive Board. We are expecting
to appoint a CFO in the near term.
At Group level, the new BIS II com-
pliance is a priority, also for RI. At
regional level, we are centralizing
administrative systems in Europe. All
these activities are aimed at one goal:
driving RI's role as a strong, mature
part of the Rabobank Group.
Rik van Slingelandt
Chairman, RI Managing Board
The Word I 3