COUNTRY BANKING
VIB in pro file
Credibility and goodwill
VIB Corp is a bank holding company whicb
offers so-called community banking' services
through its subsidiaries Valley Independent
Bank, the Bank of Stockdale and Kings River
State Bank. The combined network of 24
branches covers an area stretching close to
750 kilometres from the California-Mexico
border in the south, to Fresno in the Central
Valley.
'Community banking' has a lot in common
with Rabobank 's own approach to 'country
banking'. And VIB has been extremely suc-
cessful as a 'community bank' using local and
personalized full-service to achieve year-on-
year growth. Although economie conditions
are tough, VIB brought in a 67% increase in
profits for the third quarter of 2002 (full-year
figures are not yet available). Says Dennis L.
Kern, Chief Executive Officer, 'Our financial
position continues to improve despite the
economie times. We have achieved that
through controlling costs without sacrificing
service. That makes our success even more
gratifying. We are looking ahead to an upturn
in the economy and are well-positioned for
even more growth.Through consistent focus
on customer service, a focus that is shared by
Rabobank, Kern believes, 'We have become a
strong competitor and valuable franchise in
the diversified California markets we serve.
These are all factors that attracted Rabobank.
The acquisition by Rabobank will enable VIB
to grow, especially in the large farm lending
business. At present, VIB is limited in what it
can do for these large clients. The most it can
handle currently is between USD five and ten
million. Ifa cliënt needs more, then VIB loses
out to the competition. By becoming part of
the Rabobank Group, VIB expands its service
offeringalso opening up cross-selling oppor-
tunities for the corporate bank in the US.
lfyou would like to know more about VIB
Corp, which will continue to operate under
its current trading names, please check out
the websites www.VlBank.com or wu>w.
VIBCorp.com.
bank" with a strong network
covering part of the produc-
ing areas we see as having
growth potential for
Rabobank. Through VIB,
we will build a strong agricul-
tural lending division, headed
up by Bruce Baccus from our
Dallas office, incorporating
the corporate farming divi
sion Hund and her team
started to build in early 2002.
At the same time, VIB will
continue its successful com
munity oriented retail banking.
The ideal cliënt mix would be
around one half agriculture
and one half Small to
Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
and retail. Through the acqui
sition, we get the strong plat
form we are looking for.
We're extremely pleased that
VIB's senior management
will continue to run the bank.
VIB gets access to specialized
retail products developed by
Rabobank and access to
financial markets, our bal-
-C
ance-sheet capacity and F&A sec
tor knowledge.'
Baccus has already started building
the strong lending business. 1 le
comes originally from a production
agricultural background and prior
to heading up RI's corporate bank
ing office in Dallas, spent part of
his career in that business. 'This is
an ideal opportunity to blend both
backgrounds,' he says. 'And VIB
couldn't have made me more wel-
come. Everyone is striving to meet
our needs because they understand
the potential. Earge farm lending
is a very under-served market. In
the past 20 years, we have devel
oped a lot of credibility and good
will in the corporate market. Now
we'll be able to piggy-back on that
reputation as we launch into the
production agribusiness. I see our
task as building on what the cor
porate bank has done. And I know
Hund and her team are expecting
some pretty good cross-selling op-
portunities from us and vice versa.' I
Dennis L. Kern -
well positioned
for even more
growth
16 I The Word I
