RABOBANK HOSTS FAMILY-OWNED F&A BUSINESSES EVENT Insights in Ireland into cooperative movement Europe Europe NEWS EVEN I S www.rabobar Rabobank 10 ISSUE 28 a RI WORLD Owners and senior executives, from 12 existing family-owned businesses who are clients of Rabobank and operating in six different F&A sectors out of seven different countries, joined Rabobank in the ancient Roman city of Pollenzo. Industry trends and developments and the way in which Rabobank can help family-owned businesses achieve their growth strategies and ambitions topped the agenda. The event, which was the first of its kind for the European region, took place over two days at the end of May. It was opened by Sipko Schat, who welcomed the guests and encouraged them to participate in the discussions and maintain ongoing Communications with Rabobank. "An open dialogue," he said, "is crucial for a bank like ours in order to understand our customers' businesses and offer tailor-made solutions." Rabobank Ireland hosted a Thought Leadership event entitled 'Cooperatives: the Rabobank Story' in Cork, Ireland on the 11 th of May. The event was attended by fïfty guests from dairy cooperatives, food and agricultural cooperatives, and other stakeholders in the cooperative sector. Adrie Zwanenberg, an F&A specialist from Rabobank Group's Investor Relations department, gave a guest lecture in which he explained that Rabobank's current strength and performance stem from the cooperative nature of the bank. He said that being a The guests met a number of senior Rabobank executives including Lex Kloosterman, Head of Wholesale Clients International, Peter Howell, Regional Head of Wholesale Europe, and Frans van Bijsterveld, Head of Food Agribusiness Europe. Frans van Bijsterveld said: "As a leading global F&A bank, Rabobank is continually researching developments in the F&A industry, striving to understand key trends in the sector and sharing this unique knowledge with our clients." Food Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) staff made a key contribution to the meeting's business agenda. Processed food, retail and fresh produce specialist Maria Castroviejo's presentation focused on the crucial and successful role family-owned businesses play in the F&A industry, as well as the specific challenges they face. Carel van der Hamsvoort, Global Head of FAR, spoke about the growing importance of sourcing strategies, and Luke Chandler, who leads the London-based GFM FAR Agri Commodity Markets Research team, discussed developments in commodities markets and their impact on the F&A industry. cooperative bankenables Rabobank to follow a conservative strategy of modest growth, modest return on equity, a strong capitalisation and the highest creditworthiness, which is further enhanced by a unique cross-guarantee scheme. "Rabobank's governance model makes it possible for members to make their influence feit through several levels within Rabobank Nederland, while the central organisation - Rabobank Nederland - has a supervisory role as the 'bank of banks'forthe 141 member banks," Zwanenberg said. The event was co-hosted by Kevin Knightly, CEO Rabobank Ireland, and Professor Michael Ward, Director of the Centre for Co-operative Studies in University College Cork, and was followed by an active questions and answers session.

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