culture
Regional credit committees in the Americas give
authority in the hands of people with
specialised knowledge.The result
Andre Blom
Fragmented credit structure
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'In any organisation you try to create a uniformity, a culture,' says
Andre Blom, Head of Risk Management for the Americas,
'especially when you want to maintain a sound credit profile.'
This need for uniformity is one of the reasons for the regional
credit committee structure that Rabobank International (Rl) now
operates in the Americas.
Three years ago, the region's credit approval structure was
fragmented. The New York Credit Committee was responsible for
risk management in North America, Mexico and Canada, whilst
the Curacao Credit Committee handled loans in Chile, Brazil and
Argentina. Both committees reported directly to Utrecht, but
because the Curacao Credit Committee had a low approval limit,
almost all South American credits had to be approved by Head
Office. In addition to this, the New York office was responsible for
marketing in Latin America, yet had less influence on the region's
credit and risk management process.
