Teamwork across
the global Rabo network
REGION SPECIAL
Ruurd Weulen Kranenberg,
CEO of RI-NAW
As part of its fïve-year plan, RI-NAW will bring
together the 160 people working at its Jersey
City office with the 250+ staff in its New York
offices on Park Avenue. "It will be logistically
challenging in the short term, but the longer
term will improve our efficiency and our
ability to share ideas and knowledge, as a
team," says Weulen Kranenberg. The office
redesign reflects the drive for transparency
and teamwork, with open-plan layouts
and many glass-walled meeting rooms to
facilitate and stimulate staff interaction and
collaboration.
Over the next few years, RI-NAW employees
in New York and all North America offices
will be working to expand opportunities in
all three geographical markets. Bucklin: "In
North America, we are a major player in all
of Rabobank's core F&A sectors - but there
is still real potential for growth. We estimate
there are 800 companies that meet our target
market definition in the US alone, and we
probably have penetration of 40-45 percent
currently." So there is room to expand with
new clients, but also opportunities to broaden
and deepen relationships within the existing
cliënt base. In Canada, Bucklin estimates
that RI-NAW already banks 60 percent of
potential clients, so as well as extending
those relationships, more medium-sized F&A
businesses are on Rabobank's radar. Mexico,
he says, presents tremendous opportunities
to expand relationships with some key F&A
names, and to do more business in the mid-
market area. Internal approval has just been
given for a SOFOM, a legal structure that will
allow RI-NAW to offer clients funding in pesos.
Additionally, integrated risk management is
being stepped up. Blom: "If the financial
crisis has taught us one thing, it's that you
have to look across the silos at the whole
bank and not just at each silo in isolation. You
North America Wholesale maintains a high level of
collaboration between its various business and product
areas, and also frequently teams with other Rabo
entities around the world to provide tailored cliënt
services. These include:
Leveraging the services of De Lage Landen to
provide leasing solutions for RI-NAW clients, inclu-
ding Chiquita, Constellation, Dean Foods, Dole,
Heinz, Kendall-Jackson, and Pilgrim's Pride/JBS.
Acquisition Finance working with GFM and WCI
teams in Frankfurt, Sydney, New York, and Utrecht
to finance the USD 6.1 billion acquisition of Pactiv
by Reynolds Group Holdings, a portfolio company
of the Rank Group.
GFM sales teams delivering interest rate, commo-
dity and foreign exchange derivatives for customers
of Rabobank, N.A. in California and Rabo AgriFinance
across the US.
M&A NY collaborating with M&A colleagues in
Amsterdam and WCI Netherlands to advise CSM, the
largest global supplier of bakery products, on its USD
510 million acquisition of Best Brands, a US bakery
products leader.
Partnering with Rabo AgriFinance to provide
vendor financing programmes for farming customers of
Chicago cliënt Monsanto and Toronto cliënt Richard-
son International.
RI WORL.D
