Outstanding revenues
Hans Pontier
Network strength
Two years ago, Hans Pontier, CEO of
Rabo Securities took a step back, surveyed
the strengths of the business units, and
refocused the team to use these strengths
to greater advantage. 'Our success this
year is largely based on the decisions of
two years ago. We continuously have to
assess the market and the demands of
our clients to make the decisions that will
keep us profitable into next year.' Some
decisions are here to stay: focus on core
clients, developing specializations, and
deepening co-operation within the
Rabobank Group.
Few investment banks have performed
well this year due to unsupportive
markets, yet Rabo Securities has
achieved €85 million in revenues in
thefirsteight monthsof2004and €18
million net profit for the first six months
in 2004. 'I haven't seen the figures of our
competitors, but my feeling is that we
are doing very well. It's perhaps difficult
to compare us, because we only have
three business areas. Others may cover
a much wider range of business than
we do; we don't have the ambition
to cover all these areas, we want to
remain outstanding in our three lines
of business.'
Three years ago, when much of the industry was in the doldrums,
Rabo Securities reorganized, hiring new people, concentrating
on the areas they do best and focusing on better serving the
Rabobank network. This combination of quality people whose
main ambition is to do the business, the triple-A status of our
bank and the strength of the Rabobank network, these are our
main success factors. We couldn't do without the Rabobank
network. We couldn't be an independent broker. We can only
do this because we are part of the Rabobank group,' says Pontier.
The Word 1
