INSPIRING VIEWS ON
GLOBAL FINANCIAL MARKETS
ROUNDTABLE EVENT
EVENTS
What? Roundtable Event
WW 26 May, 2009
What?Global ABS Conference
WW 2-3 June, 2009
Where?The Hilton Metropole,
London, United Kingdom
On 2 and 3 June, Rabobank's Debt Capital
Markets (DCM) group co-sponsored the
Global ABS 2009 Conference in London.
The conference provided an opportunity to
present Rabobank's capabilities in the DCM
arena and more specifïcally on securitisation
products. Rabobank's DCM group operated
a stand during the conference and hosted a
cliënt BBQ event on the evening of 2 June at
the London branch office.
Due to the significant global change and
uncertainty in the securitisation market the
conference with the title 'Regroup and
rebuild together' was shortened to two
days in anticipation of low participation.
However, the high number of participants
to this conference (over 2.600) showed that
even in these times of stress there is still a
need for an industry wide forum to discuss
business opportunities. The general conclu-
sion of the conference was that the securi
tisation market needed more transparency
before the market truly can recover. Also,
the recently announced programmes of the
US, UK, Australian and European govern-
ments to kick-start the securitisation market
were the subject of many discussions.
Rabobank was a silver sponsor of the
conference and had a very well balanced
presence. Mark O'Keefe, Head of European
Securitisation, and Björn Alink, Head of
Benelux Securitisation, participated in panel
discussions on corporate securitisation and
the future of mortgage funding respec-
tively. The Rabobank booth at the confer
ence was very well visited and showed that
Rabobank is one of the banks that still is
open for (selected) securitisation business.
In conjunction with the conference,
Rabobank hosted a cliënt event with a BBQ
on the terrace of our London office over-
looking the Thames. This event attracted
around 140 clients and advisors and proved
to be a great success. Next to enthusiastic
clients, the weather made for a perfect
evening.
Where? Museum van Loon,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
On 26 May, Rabobank Intemational's vice
chairman Sipko Schat hosted a dinner at
Museum van Loon in Amsterdam for a
select group of CEOs and CFOs from large
corporate and F&A corporate clients. The
session was one of a number of roundtable
events hosted by Rabobank, which aim to
increase cliënt intimacy and support the
commitment to long-term cliënt relation-
ships. Additionally, the events increase the
understanding of clients' business concerns
and help support communication of the Rl
Wholesale Netherlands strategy.
The key message put across to the large
corporate market is that Rabobank is the
strategie partner in business. With around
10-15 CEOs and CFOs attending, the setting
is ideal for all parties to share thoughts
on relevant developments within the
sector. Frequently, follow-up meetings are
planned. This personal contact and sharing
of minds with clients' most senior execu-
tives is essential in becoming (and remain-
ing) the clients' bank of choice.
During the introduction to the roundtable
events, Sipko Schat sets the stage by shar
ing his personal thoughts and feelings on
the topics of the evening - over the past
six months this has included the crisis in
the fïnancial markets and the subsequent
recession - and outlines the bank's position
and strategy.
In addition to hosting a number of events
covering the fïnancial crisis over the past
six months, roundtable events also offer an
ideal platform to discuss different sector
themes. For instance, F&A Corporates has
now hosted the Vision on Food Captains'
Dinner for three consecutive years. Also
hosted by Sipko Schat, this event has
brought together CEOs from 30-40 leading
food, food retail and food service organi-
sations and helped promote Rabobank's
sector expertise.
issue 20 i THE WORD
