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

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'RI The Word / The Word' (EN) | 2006 | | pagina 3