FUNDING LIQUIDITY
Investor Relations
roadshows 2003 -
somewhere nearyou
part of the Communication department.
At Rabobank, the focus is different.
Although we, as a Group, are competing
for the same investor base as our listed
counterparts, perceived wisdom is that
you should keep lines of communication
short. 'What that means,' explains Haijo
Dijkstra, who is responsible for Funding
and IR, 'is that the investor base expects
timely, consistent and reliable informa-
tion about the Group and our funding
activities. We do this through proactive
roadshows, advertisements in selected
publications, participation in confer
ences and other special events, as well as
talking directly to analysts and financial
press about our funding activities.
However, (potential) investors not only
get information about Rabobank, but
also an update on Rabobank's product
capabilities on the wholesale side. By
teaming up in meetings with sales peo-
ple from different departments, we try
to capitalize on the interest of institu-
tional investors in the Rabobank Group.
Essentially, we also create the founda
tion from which our sales teams can act
in a focused way.'
Says Bert Bruggink, Head of Group
Control, 'The whole approach to getting
access to funding and capital is a com-
bined effort. We all work on this togeth-
er - Group Treasury, Capital Markets,
the sales forces around the world and
Control. My role during IR events is
primarily to provide potential investors
with transparent financial background
information on our long-term solvency
and credit worthiness. At Control, we
maintain relations with the rating agen-
cies, so we are able to reassure investors
of the fact that we're not only AAA
now, but we will remain so for the
longer-term. All these events are
designed to drive home the message that
Rabobank is a solid player with a clear
strategie vision, that we offer trans-
parency and a certain level of security.
All are highly desirable for potential
investors, especially in very volatile
markets.' H
For more information about IR follow
the links on www.rabobank.com
Bert Bruggink - in volatile markets Rabobank
is highly desirable
Haijo Dijkstra - steering investors
Group Treasury - Global Liability
Management (GT-GLM) in co-op-
eration with Capital Markets and Con
trol will be talking with many investors
during 2003. In all our markets where
pools of funds are available for invest-
ment in Rabobank bonds, roadshows for
investors are planned. Says GT-GLM's
Haijo Dijkstra, 'These events can be
from one to five days, depending on the
investment potential per country. For
example, this year we will spend a total
of four days in Sydney and Melbourne
working in close co-operation with
Rabobank Australia. We will also spend
four days in Switzerland, four days in
Tokyo and five days elsewhere in Asia.
These countries have a considerable
number oflarge institutional investors -
they need to be looked after on a
regular basis.'
Asia is growing in importance, especially
South Korea, China and Japan. 'We need
the Asian bid to execute successful trans-
actions,' he explains. 'A number of our
products are sought after by Asian in
vestors, especially US dollar-denomi-
nated structured notes and plain vanilla
euro-denominated Rabobank bonds.
Meeting with these investors and height-
ening Rabobank's pro file is crucial.' The
United States is another region where the
team will be active this year. 'This coun
try has the largest pool of funds in the
world. We will approach this institu
tional investor base with the GT and
Capital Markets team in New York.
The aim is to discover their appetite for
senior and junior debt and to stimulate
cross-selling. Guiding investors to the
right GT and Capital Markets sales
people is Standard procedure wherever
we hold roadshows.
I F The Word I 17
