COVER STORY COOPERATION WITH DLL AND SARASIN HiPod Programme Private banking Cooperation in China Providing effective cross-border solutions to multinational clients can be difficult to arrange for even the largest of organisations. Within the banking sector, however, where cliënt intimacy sits at the heartofa successful business relationship, it is becoming a 'must have' requirement. By tapping into the broad sector expertise offered by Rabobank Group's subsidiairies, Rl is managing to 'connect the chain' and bring added value to its cliënt base. At De Lage Landen (DLL), which offers asset-based financing in more than 35 countries, Chief Commercial Offreer Jan Kusters believes that working together equals winning together. "Rl and DLL currently cooperate within the areas of retail and wholesale, and it's a relationship that has been developing steadily for a number of years. In each country we encounter a unique situation, so our work together is always tailor-made rather than off-the-shelf." As well as differences at the regional level, the business models of the retail and wholesale sectors are also quite distinct and require different levels of expertise, says Wim Visser, VP Relation ship Management and International Business at DLL. "Within the retail sector there is more repeat business, with more clients and a higher transaction volume, resulting in a quite different end-user base. In wholesale, however, transaction volume is much lower, although the transactions are larger and a higher complex than in retail. As a result, cooperation within the wholesale environment is on a deal-by-deal basis, while in retail it's more structured." Cooperation within the retail environment takes place in a number of countries, with DLL providing services to Rl within the F&A sector in North America, Australia, Poland and the Netherlands. In Chile, a relatively small market for both Rl and DLL, support is offered on a consultancy basis, which Jan Kusters says is at the lightest end of the cooperation scale. 'The most straightforward form of cooperation is consultancy, where we work on developing the sales- or banking process. The next level up is a service model, where we perform services linked to large transactions, such as portfolio management or studying risk related to asset-based financing, which is one of our key competencies. The most intense form of cooperation is establishing a joint venture, where both Rl and DLL set up separate companies and carry out business together, acting essentially as one entity. Exemplary for such cooperation is the joint venture BGZ Leasing in Poland. This demands a lot of both organisations, and is time-intensive to establish. Additionally, such a model is only practical in more mature markets, such as Poland, where both organisations are already well established." In a joint effort DLL and Rl have recently completed the HiPod Project (the High Potential Development Project), which aims to challenge and inspire Rabobank talent across Europe in the wholesale and retail environments. Results show that the right cooperation will unlock substantial potential. 'The cross-sell working group focused on identifying opportunities that lie between Rl and DLL. If DLL can add value to Rl, we create value for the customer, and that's what we're aiming for," Jan Kusters says. At first glance, a leading Swiss private bank may seem like an unlikely addition to the Rabobank organisation. However, since taking a majority shareholding in Sarasin in 2006, a rewarding relationship has developed between the two entities. Joachim Straehle, Chief Executive Offreer of Sarasin, explains that over the past three years both Sarasin and Rl have benefïted from gaining access to each other's clients. "In 2006, when we first feit the benefits of having Rabobank as our largest shareholder, our idea was to build up a pure, private banking operation. Now, as we exit the economie crisis, I think that this was absolutely the right strategy. Rabobank is internationally diversified, has over 9 million clients, and we see tremendous synergy opportunities. As a private bank, our business is about safeguarding the assets of the high net worth individuals that make up the bulk of our clientele. Many of our clients are looking for access to the types of products that a triple A rated bank like Rabobank can offer, so we regularly introducé our customers to Rl to discuss their requirements. One example is the outstanding collaboration that took place between RI's fixed income trading division and Sarasin when we placed a EUR 500 million perpetual fund among our cliënt base." Increasingly, Straehle says, Rl is introducing wealthy clients within the F&A sector to Sarasin. "We are steadily building up our F&A cliënt areas, especially within Asia. If we take China, for example, a typical business model involves an Rl cliënt building up a business within the F&A sector, selling it and then being faced with the dilemma of how best to invest the proceeds of the sale. It's at this stage that Rl introducés Sarasin, which ensures that the cliënt not only gets first-class advice, but is offered a seamless transition as they move from one business phase to another." Of course, private banking customers are not the only ones to benefit from intra-company cooperation in Asia. Rl also collaborates intensively with DLL in the F&A sector. DLL entered China in 2006. Since 2006, Rl has helped DLL develop its team, and has provided a range of back-office services, such as HR support. On the business side, cooperation began initially with DLL using Rl as the sole funding source for its fast growing portfolio. When Rl has a cliënt in China that requires a leasing product or could benefit from a better financing structure, it contacts David Mamo, DLL China's first and current General Manager. Orlando Wang, RI's General Manager in China, explains that the 10 issue 22 THE WORD

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'RI The Word / The Word' (EN) | 2010 | | pagina 12