4 Rabobank's triple A status gives us a big edge, a time when many US banks are struggling with the credit crisis 9 ,W™ New Zealand Ronald Blok: New Zealand subject to good seasons and bad seasons." But Broekhuyse admits that even he was slightly surprised as how quickly he and his team were able to grow the Australian business. "We began with a 3% market share and now have 20% of the Australian agribusiness market. That's pretty amazing for a foreign bank." Fourteen years later, retail banking is still the main focus of Rabobank International's business in Australia and New Zealand, says Neil Dobbin, head of rural banking in Australia and New Zealand. As elsewhere, Rabobank has a Corporate Clients business, serving major publicly-listed F&A companies, but 75% of the bank's business comes from retail banking. 'This covers two types of business for us. Rural banking, which is funding farmers with loans up of to AUSS 270 million, and business banking, for family-owned or private firms in the food, beverage or Agri service industries with debt requirements of up to AUSS 60 million," says Dobbin. Retail banking is a pretty big business in Australia, Dobbin adds, and the biggest part for Rl is the rural banking business. Rabobank targets the top 25% of the region's F&A producers, as these are by far the most profitable. "Size really does matter here, which is why there's been a lot of consolidation in the farming sector. And it's the biggest farmers the ones that we target that are growing the fastest and that are most likely to thrive," he says. That said, one of Rabobank's biggest competitive edges is the fact that it is a niche player, with a real focus on F&A, which means it can build close relationships with clients in this sector, he adds. This focus on cliënt relationships has also enabled Rabo AgriFinance, the US farm lender, to build up a nationwide business with some of the biggest F&A players across the country. However, in California, Rabobank's retail banking business is much closerto the Rabobank universal banking model seen in the Netherlands, Cor Broekhuyse says. Headed by Ronald Blok, CEO of Rabobank NA, the fast-growing US retail bank has 93 branches spanning 700 miles in California, from Sacramento to the Mexican border. And again the nature of the business was determined by the acquisitions the bank made. 'The three California banks we've acquired in the past five years are all community banks, very similar to the member banks in the Netherlands," says Ronald Blok. 'They all have very close ties to the local communities. What this means in the US is that you serve the entire community. That includes retail customers and local small and medium-sized businesses, or SMEs, including agribusiness producers." 1 8 issue 17 THE WORD

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'RI The Word / The Word' (EN) | 2008 | | pagina 18