Ger van Rosmalen.

Developing a Specialty Service: An Insider's View

Ger J. van Rosmalen is the Manager, Foreign Department for F. van Lanschot Bankiers N.V. located in Breda, the Netherlands. A member of the Finance, Credit and International Business Association (FCIB) Advisory Council for the past two years, Rosmalen joined the FCIB Board of Directors in November 1999.

Rosmalen began his career in the banking business in 1974. "My background is in business, and I have always been attracted to banking," he reflected. "When I left school, there was an opening in the LC Department in a local bank. I applied for the position and got the job. Although I took a number of courses at the Dutch Banking Institute and investigated other areas of business, such as stock exchange and credit services, I always came back to trade finance because the import and export business is both exciting and interesting. I enjoy having the opportunity to travel, meet people from other cultures and learn different ways of transacting business."

In 1980, Rosmalen took a management position at a small trade finance bank, which later became the Deutsche Bank in Amsterdam. He left this position to become Manager of the Trade Finance Department of Banque Nationale de Paris in Amsterdam. In 1987, he joined F. van Lanschot Bankiers N.V. as Manager, Foreign Department and was given the responsibility to develop and expand the department's specialty service.

F. van Lanschot Bankiers N.V. is the fifth largest Dutch universal bank. The van Lanschot brand name is one of the most highly regarded in the Netherlands, particularly in the private banking market. Established in 1737 in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch, some 80 kilometers south of Amsterdam, the bank still maintains its head office there. Its domestic network of 35 offices concentrates on private, corporate and investment banking; treasury and capital market activities; and selected niches in retail marketing. Outside the Netherlands, van Lanschot's operations are centered around international private banking, with offices in Belgium, Switzerland, Curacao, Luxemburg and Jersey. Currently, van Lanschot employs a total work force of approximately 2,000.

"As a manager of the Trade Finance Department, I am responsible for two teams: one is based in Breda, near the Belgium border, and the other is located in Rotterdam. My job is to ensure that both teams consistently provide excellent service to all of our customers. Lanschot has five such offices in the Netherlands, and I am responsible for two of them."

Rosmalen described the service that his Trade Finance Department offers as a hidden specialty within Lanschot Bankiers. "We have developed a very specialized service in the field of trade finance for corporations: we supply our customers with 'same day handling' of their Letters of Credit (LC) documentary transactions. We give special attention to the quality of documentation, allowing for no discrepancies in any documents that we prepare. We have customers located throughout Europe and several in the US. We compete with banks all over Europe." Rosmalen noted that their customers consist of private clients, family-owned businesses and corporations.