Opening doors
Knowledge exchange
FAR may not be the primary reason people bank with
Rabobank, Bott says, but it is a great differentiator in a very
competitive market. "It means that we can bring something
extra to the table, and gives us a vital edge in talks with
clients and potential clients. Add that to Rabobank's
reputation, its products, and the expertise we have at every
level of the bank and you have a winning combination."
FAR and the business have worked closely together for
many years in Australia and New Zealand, and they are
now looking to replicate this level of cooperation in
other regions, like North America and Latin America. The
challenge for FAR as a whole, Fiunt says, is to demonstrate
that it can be part of the Rabobank proposition as the bank
develops the rural banking business in other regions. On
the corporate banking front, FAR has to prove it can deliver
through its interaction with relationship managers. "Our
clients are getting bigger and we're increasingly dealing
with international and multinational companies. We have
to show that we can deliver research, analysis and advisory
services that they cannot get elsewhere.
Kaushik Modak, head of Corporate Banking in India, say
he uses FAR strategically, to open doors to major clients.
He says the increased focus on F&A is now coming through
in transactions. "We recently completed a USD 30 million
syndicated loan transaction for India's biggest coffee
retailer. We had a solid relationship with the cliënt, so
where FAR really came into play was getting other banks
on board for the deal. For instance, Germany's DEG Bank
participated because of our familiarity with the cliënt
business and knowledge of the Indian coffee market."
John Baker, Head of Food Agribusiness Research and
Advisory Asia, says FAR is one of Rabobank's truly global
divisions, with around 80 specialists all over the world
focusing purely on agricultural markets. "You don't see that
in any other bank. Given that agriculture is emerging as
a mainstream investment class, the time and effort put
into building this network is really paying off. It gives
Rabobank a real edge," he says.
In Asia, FAR focuses on supporting the bank on the credit
administration front, and providing research across the F&A
sectors, at a regional and global level. Not to mention the
unique role FAR advisory plays advising external clients and
potential clients, Baker says. "But what really attracts clients
to Rabobank is the total package."
FAR advisory is certainly a big plus for clients looking to
enter the Indian F&A market, Modak says. "They want to
know how the market works and who the main players are.
The next step is often an M&A mandate. Clients come to us
because we know all the Indian F&A sectors much better
than other commercial banks. And given that India is huge
in most agricultural commodities, the potential for growth
is enormous. Also, Indian companies are currently investing
The Rabobank dealing room in London
heavily in increased production and quality, which I believe
will help India move from being a producer for largely
domestic consumption to a major player on the global
commodities markets. We're in the perfect position to take
advantage of that," Modak says.
Given this increased focus on F&A, Carel van der Hamsvoort
believes FAR needs to become more involved at the
cliënt interface. "FAR will become more important to the
bank. Whether this is an M&A mandate or a TCF lending
application, we will be asked to participate more in these
processes."
This has been the case in India for some time, Modak says.
"If l'm visiting major clients, I usually take someone from
FAR with me. FAR is much more of a business partner these
days, and I fïrmly believe this partnership will pay off more
and more in the future. We've actually moved our FAR team
closer to the commercial team, which makes us feel more
of an integrated unit."
Van der Hamsvoort also stresses FAR's role as an educator,
briefing relationship managers and key management on
how various F&A markets work and how to penetrate those
markets more effectively. Baker: 'There aren't that many
specialised F&A bankers out there, so we need to extend
FAR as much as we can, to transfer the knowledge we have
into the group, so that we also leverage that knowledge
through our front line people,".
Modak agrees, adding that when Rabobank announced its
revised strategy, he asked FAR to organise workshops on
the various F&A sectors in India for his commercial people.
"We need to know the markets and the players. Basically,
who our potential clients are and what they might need.
FAR's research and advisory services for us and our clients
makes it an indispensible part of the total Rabobank package."
ISSUE 22 JANUARY THE WORD 33