Brazil
Although Ortiz acknowledges that Rabobank has a relatively
small market share in Brazil, he explains the target is for
an annual growth of 25 percent within the rurai banking
sector. "We are currently doing the following to grow: we have
expanded geographically, opening branches and hiring more
staff. We now have a reasonable presence in most areas to
acquire customers and increase our wallet share."
Ortiz explains that the credit crunch has thrown up a unique
opportunity for the bank. "Because competition is weaker,
and because many banks have diminished their operations
within F&A and focused on their core areas, doors are
opening. Additionally, this gives us the chance to cross-
sell. Part of our income now comes from advisory projects,
another part comes from structured loans, while a good
share comes from the sale of derivatives (such as exchange
rate derivatives) as well as loans related to future commodity
prices. Brazil has a great deal of potential within the F&A
sector."
ISSUE 19 Art;'! THE WORD 25
Brazil is one of the top producers and exporters of many
of the world's commodities, including coffee, ethanol,
beef, concentrated orange juice, sugar and soy beans.
Additionally, the country's competitiveness has been
improving steadily - there's a constant search for efficiency
within the market, which in many cases is coordinated
between suppliers, processors and traders. According to
Carlos Ortiz, Rabobank's Head of Rural Banking in Brazil, the
country is also growing within the cotton market, and the
corn and dairy sectors. 'The vast majority of our activities
are related to F&A," Ortiz says. "For example, about 60
percent of our profit comes from pure relationship F&A
activities with the rest coming from areas such as GFM."
