Behind the scenes
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to a new issue of The
Word. I am delighted to be
introducing the magazine for
the first time. As of July 1 this
year, Sipko Schat and I formally
took over the chairmanships of
the Rl Managing Board, and we
will be working closely together.
I am also pleased to announce
that this will not cause half as
much inconvenience for you as
a political upheaval might!
The first half of the year ended
positively for Rl, mainly as a result of participations. However, as market
conditions toughen and margins decrease, we see an increase in the loan
books. We are considering taking steps to reverse this, but look forward to a
good second half with the prospect of a high level of entrepreneurship, new
initiatives and possible acquisitions.
Some individual departments, such as Equity Derivatives, have performed
particularly well, and we cover this on page 7.
Our Communications Departments (page 4) are also in the spotlight this
month, while our cover story (page 12) brings you up to date with the
European rollout of Radar, our Customer Relationship Management system.
Other articles look at Global HR's (page 19) efforts to identify and train the
managers of the future, and the often-unseen measures put in place by
Global Security (page 26) to keep our information, buildings and people safe.
We also talk to Bert Heemskerk about his tour of the regions, and his ambi-
tious vision for the bank in the next five years.
While sustainable and profitable growth is high on our agenda, so are our
social responsibilities. The Rabobank Development Program (page 16), is just
one of the ways we manifest this. Read about the recent acquisition in China,
and our plans to be part of the reform of China's rural credit cooperatives.
I hope you enjoy the issue,
Hans ten Cate
Chairman, Rl Managing Board
Issue 12-October 2006 The Word 3