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.