Financial Logistics
;#11
BANKING SPECIAL MUTUAL DEPENDENCY
Bart Rootliep
YA"
in dealing with wealthy individuals, and that is private banking,
This central organisation in Utrecht is currently structuring itself
along the same lines as corporate banking, by putting relatively
large teams at member banks and having them co-develop
their cliënt base. Both supporting organisations are closely
linked to Rl or are even integrated."
Mol acknowledges that there is a discrepancy between
Rabobank International's goal to be the leading F&A bank, and
Rabobank Netherlands' strategy aimed at universal banking.
"Wanting to be everything to all men in the Netherlands, which
obviously we cannot aim for abroad, we have to serve our
clients as best we can. But we need a certain scale to provide
those products at a cost effective price, and vehicles to bring
those products to our cliënt base efficiently. That could well
mean that for certain services and products member banks
might feel that clients are better served from a central location.
The way we serve our corporate clients is already regionalised.
And now we are thinking about private banking, insurance and
other opportunities."
Both in corporate banking and in private banking, customer
ownership remains at the member bank. Would it not be more
efficiënt to simply put a few central desks in charge? 'The
debate should not be about 'who is the boss' but rather 'how
do we get this organised'," comments Mol. 'The aim should
be to service the cliënt at the end of the line. In general, most
member banks do recognise that their individual market size
might not support a specialised team for corporate insurance,
to give one example. So we need to pool resources and
utilise the expertise elsewhere in the group. Currently most
of those regionai outfits are 'managed' by groups of member
banks, not always via Utrecht. That structure might improve
internal efficiency, but other options are certainly possible.
So when it makes sense for some specialists to place these
regionai support desks under the umbrella of a national
organisation or even the international group, than that should
be contemplated."
Within the Dutch corporate market we have
seen a shift in our cliënt relationship, which
is not only based on lending but also on cash
management, says Bart Rootliep, Head of Sales
Management Financial Logistics. "We advise
both large corporates that are serviced by
Rabobank International in Utrecht and mid
corporates and SMEs that are serviced by our
member banks on cash management, trade
and risk management. By adding focus on this
anchor product, our cliënt relationship evolves
from an event and credit driven focus towards
a more balanced, long-term relationship.
Our cash management advice is based on
seeing, controlling and optimising the cash.
This process is a logical step towards other
related products, such as trade, treasury and
corporate insurance. Our cliënt relationship
will deepen and will generate more diverse and
recurring income.
We recently expanded our International Cash
Management proposition for our internationally-
active corporate customers and continuously
strive to deliver value-creating solutions to our
clients. These possibilities are made available
via the Rabo Financial Logistics Portal, our on-
line platform for corporate banking. The portal
also provides a treasury and trade module, thereby
integrating liquidity and risk management."
38 ISSUE 23 MAY 2010 RI WORLD