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Co-operatives : The Rabobank Story
Centre for Co-operative Studies/Rabobank Event held in UCC
A public lecture co-hosted by Rabobank Ireland Plc and the Centre for Co-operative Studies was held in UCC on the 11th May. Professor Michael Ward, Director of the Centre, chaired the event, which had as its keynote speaker Dr. Adrie Zwanenberg, a PhD graduate of the Department of Food Business & Development, UCC and currently Managing Director of Investor Relations for the Rabobank Group.
Dr. Zwanenberg spoke about the history and success of Rabobank which is one of the few AAA rated banks in Europe. Rabobank, a co-operative, has a strong democratic structure in the Netherlands. Dr. Zwanenberg highlighted how this co-operative structure has been the foundation of the bank’s success. Dr. Zwanenberg indicated that Rabobank is now credited with playing a central part in saving the Dutch economy from the work of the current economic and financial crisis.
Tom O’Callaghan, in his reply spoke about his new role as CEO of ICOS as well as his vision for the co-operative sector in Ireland. He highlighted the strength of the co-operative model and indicated that there is a need for greater co-operation between co-operatives on the island of Ireland.
The floor was then opened for debate on the role of co-operatives in Irish society. A number of points were raised including the lack of credit for co-operatives and also obstacles to co-operative formation in terms of understanding of the model and its unique value. It was pointed out that the state often hinders rather than facilitates co-op formation and development. The metrics used to measure business success were discussed and it was questioned whether the purely material ratios are actually to the benefit of business development. Dr. Zwanenberg responded that while material metrics are of relevance, for a co-operative they are not and should not be the primary measures of success. Clearly using a wider range of metrics has not hindered the development of Rabobank as it could be said to be one of the few banks still standing on its own two feet.
The audience consisted of representatives from agricultural dairy co-operatives, co-operative marts, credit unions, new co-operatives such as organic beef and lamb co-operatives, the E-Money Co-operative, IBEC, IFA, LEADER companies, Teagasc, Irish Dairy Board, ILCU and ICOS.
Click here for Adrie Zwanenberg's presentation
Photo: Prof. Michael Ward, Director Centre for Co-operative Studies; Tom O’Callaghan, CEO, ICOS; Kevin Knightly, CEO, Rabobank Ireland, Dr. Adrie Zwanenberg, MD Investor Relations, Rabobank Group.