With ten years in corporate relationship
management at Rabobank Nederland and,
before that, many years with the competition,
Robin Bargmann, Executive Vice President,
Rabobank Nederland Corporate Clients, has
been there, seen it, done it. His conclusion:
'We have come a long way in becoming a
professional wholesale organisation. But
there is so much more to do.'
The Word (TW): Ten years ago, in an
interview for "What's News"-a predecessor
ofthis magazine-you talkedabout
Rabobank's poor image in the domestic
corporate banking market. What wasyour
diagnosis?
Robin Bargmann (RB): 'At that time
Rabobank had it all - competent people,
financial power and a strong network of
local member banks. But we were a
sleeping giant. Independent surveys
showed that Rabobank's image left a lot
to be desired. I think it was mainly a
matter of perception, but we lacked the
self-confidence to leverage on our strong
points.'
TW: What were the priorities for improving the situation
RB: 'My main concern was our self-confidence. We were applying
the so-called "penetrator model" for relationship management.
This meant that we focused on the product with the most
influence on the customer interface - corporate lending - to
develop the customer relationship. Because of our focus on
credit, we only spoke to company treasurers, who were focused
on credit margins etc. We were talking basis points rather than
strategie business issues and therefore unable to position
ourselves on an equal footing with other banks.
Credit is a strategically important product for the customer, but it
is hard to generate sufficiënt return for the bank on credit
lending alone.'
TW: What didyou do to create more strategie relationships?
RB: Two things. Rabobank created a domestically and
20 The Word
Robin Bargmann
