OPENING DOORS
transaction competitively, allowing a solid
margin whiie also meeting the client's
needs and budgetary targets. "Eliana
brought us all together. She works at sales
in London and has contacts with llly, and
it was Eliana who suggested NDFs. She
is Italian, so she already has her contacts
there. She then contacted us in New York,
as we're the centre of competence for
Latin America, and asked for pricing. And
this kind of collaboration is happening a lot
more within the Rabobank organisation.
When a dient needs a service, people
know whom to contact," he says.
De Rossi stresses the collaborative nature
of the deal, explaining that she had daily
contact with New York, as Kitahara and his
team continuously monitored exchange
rate levels, so that Rabobank could fïx the
NDF at the best level for llly. 'This meant
that we could seize the moment when
the euro and the real were at a level that
would allows us to hedge as much risk as
possible." And because Rabobank's RMs
in Milan have an excellent relationship
with llly, they were able to make sure all
the necessary credit lines were in place to
minimise risk for both parties.
This NDF deal is just the beginning, they
all agree, as llly has constant exposure
to commodity and exchange rate risks.
Not only was Rabobank able to come up
with the right product, at the right level
and at the right time, the deal was very
competitively priced thanks to Kitahara
and the New York team, De Rossi says.
And, she adds, the bank is already in talks
on similar deals for other Rabobank clients,
and those talks are going really well. "As
we deepen our relationships with clients,
I expect this kind of deal to become quite
common. As Schiavini has said, each new
deal helps open new doors, enabling us
to offer new Rl products. This is a very
exciting time for us."
An NDF is essentially a derivative instrument for hedging exchange-rate risk.
issue 24 RI WORLD
