An opportunity lies
in the vast in-house
capital market
research and
economie research
COVER STORY
Safe haven
10 ISSUE 16 THE WORD
At Rabobank, we are fortunate to have experienced, quali-
fied staff. An opportunity lies in the vast in-house capital
market research and economie research. This research with
its lessons learned is invaluable input in continual staff
education. Education on effective pricing, credit risk assess-
ments, money market movements and new product devel-
opment.
Rabobank International has not been immune to market
turbulence. Rocks too are weathered by storms. Looking
towards the future, clear choices have been and are being
made. Simply look at the streamlining the Global Financial
Markets strategy (see GFM Quarterly Review, Special Edition,
April 2008) with its emphasis on client-related flow and a
newly established Client Products Group. Or at the underpin-
ning of the Food and Agriculture (F&A) sector, which is in
the Rabobank DNA. In a global marketplace that is looking
for safer havens, we are helping our clients navigate towards
new opportunities by doing proper research in its main
markets like F&A (see The Food Chain, p. 14). Based on this
research, Rabobank develops and offers products that sup
port cliënt needs when it comes to dealing with volatile and
structurally more expensive commodity prices.
Our triple A rating ensures that we can continue to confi-
dently offer our investors and clients a wide range of attrac-
tive products and services. The fact that we are a conserva-
tive, risk mitigating bank - even considered a bit dull by
some - means that we are now more than ever, in a position
to demonstrate obvious added-value to clients. Ultimately,
Rabobank is a reliable partner in banking. We are solid as a
rock.
"Rabobank Research is monitoring, and making the
'knowns' and 'unknowns' explicit. This way we can more
clearly indicate future opportunities and prepare for the
mid-term. With knowledge management producing
a feedback loop for questions and ideas from all parts
of the bank, we create an information and commu-
nication platform. This platform has already provided
an extensive cliënt presentation suited for strategie
dialogue with clients and other bank relations. This and
other materials can all be found on the Market Turmoil
site on Meeting Point."
meetingpoint.rabonet.com/themes/markets/market-
turmoilupdate.asp
- Peter Spitters, Head of Industry Knowledge Team (IKT),
Corporate Clients Netherlands
