The acquisition and subsequent break-up of ABN
AMRO and the impact of the fïnancial crisis on other
leading fïnancial players, such as ING, has changed
the Dutch banking landscape dramatically over
the past two years. Rabobank, which has emerged
relatively unscathed from the fïnancial crisis, faces
its own challenges, stemming largely from the
impact of the economie malaise on its retail and
corporate clients.
Members of the MT Rl NL.
From left to right: Cees Hamming,
Els Kamphof, Sander Pruijs, Tanja Cuppen,
Matthijs Mondria and Eric Saris.
Despite these challenges, the new situation
within the Dutch market has created an
unprecedented window of opportunity for
Rabobank to realise its ambition of becom-
ing the leading wholesale bank in the Neth-
erlands. However, the clock is ticking and
Rabobank needs to act quickly, as troubled
rivals rethinktheir previous international
expansion and set their sights firmly on the
Dutch market. In a roundtable discussion,
the members of RI's Management Team for
the Netherlands discussed what Rabobank
is doing - and what still needs to be done -
to realise its wholesale banking ambitions in
the Netherlands.
"Firstly, we have to clearly communicate our
ambitions, both internally and externally,"
says Cees Hamming, Head of Senior
Relationship Banking. "Our clients and our
own people expect this from us. And then
each and every one of us has to make very
sure that everything we do contributes to
the realisation of this ambition."
Tanja Cuppen, Global Head of Corporate
Finance, agrees and adds that this includes
being clever about how Rabobank allocates
capital. "We don't have the resources to
simply throw capital at clients, so we have
to be smart. We're not going to be the
bank with the most capital allocated to the
Dutch market anytime soon, so we have
to work together - combining products
and advisory services - in such a way that it
creates the most value for our clients."
Yes, Hamming says, because Rabobank
should be very clear that it is aiming for
market leadership, not market domination.
"We want to be the best rather than the
biggest. But we need to be confident
we can do this and create a culture that
believes we can be successful."
ISSUE 23 MAY 2010 RI WORLD 27
