F&F
1898
1972
1980
1996
2008
New appointments
to advisory board
BANKBGZ POSTS
STRONG NET
PROFIT GROWTH
Europe
Australia
RI IN THE NEWS
Just the facts &figures
Enterprising farmers in the Netherlands take
matters into their own hands when, due
to a lack of credit possibilities at existing
banks, they decide to help one another
by founding two cooperative banks:
the Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen Bank
in Utrecht and the Coöperatieve Centrale
Boerenleenbank in Eindhoven.
IT WAS A GIVEN - THE TWO BANKS THAT
HAD THEIR ROOTS PLANTED FIRMLY IN THE
COOPERATIVE FOOD AGRI SECTOR DECIDE
TO MOVE FORWARDTOGETHER. HOWEVER,
THE NAME RABOBANK DID NOT BECOME
THE BANK'S OFFICIAL NAME UNTIL 1980.
Rabobank opens its first branch on
American soil, in New York. Now, 29 years
later, Rabobank is active in the US with
three different offshoots Rabobank
International for granting credit, and
business expansions and acquisitions;
Rabobank N.A., for retail activities of
personal banking customers, and small
to medium-sized companies in California;
and Rabo AgriFinance, which specialises
in credit for American farming and
ranching businesses.
Although Rabobank's international activities
started back in the early 1970s - at the
same time as the internationalisation of the
Dutch Food Agribusiness - Rabobank
didn't really begin its conquests abroad until
the foundation of Rabobank International
ALTHOUGH RABOBANK IS ALSO ACTIVE IN
OTHER MARKETS, F&A STILL REMAINS ITS
MOST IMPORTANT DISCIPLINE. AND, ONCE
AGAIN PROVING THAT DISTANCE IS NO
OBSTACLE, RABOBANK HAS BEEN NAMED
BY MERRILL LYNCH AS THE NUMBER ONE
BANK IN THE AGRIBUSINESS INDUSTRY
IN AUSTRALIA.
6 issue 19 THE WORD
Bank BGZ, Rabobank's Polish retail bank,
posted a 6 percent increase in net profït over
2008, fuelled by growth from residential
loans and corporate lending activity,
including clients in the agri-food sector.
Net profït came in at 206.1 million zlotys,
while gross profït climbed 17 percent to
262.6 million zlotys. Jacek Bartkiewicz,
President of Bank BGZ, said: "2008 should
be seen as a relatively good year for the
bank. We achieved a 14 percent increase
in banking operations to 1.1 billion zlotys,
despite less-than-favourable market
conditions."
Bank BGZ finished the year with a branch
network of 291nearly 533,000 personal
accounts and more than 156,000 savings
accounts. The bank's customers are able
to withdraw cash using a network of 2,623
ATMs spread across Poland.
Rabobank Australia New Zealand has
appointed Robert Hill Smith and Professor
Warwick McKibbin to its Australasian Food
Agribusiness Advisory Board, which is
responsible for advising the bank's local
operations. Mr Hill Smith, the proprietor and
Managing Director of the Yalumba Wine
Company, is one of Australia's leading wine
industry entrepeneurs. Professor McKibbin
is Professor and Director of the Centre of
Applied Macroeconomic Analysis at the
Australian National University (ANU) and
a renowned authority on climate change.
Rabobank Australia New Zealand CEO
Bruce Dick said it was the bank's great
fortune to have business leaders of the
caliber of Mr Hill Smith and Professor
McKibbin on its advisory board. "The
advisory board plays an invaluable role in
advising Rabobank's board of directors
and senior management on industry issues
and activities," Mr Dick said.
Warwick McKibbin (left) and Robert Hill Smith (right).
As one of the country's most successful wine
entrepreneurs, Robert Hill Smith brings the
insight and valuable hands-on perspective
of running a thriving agribusiness operation.
Under Robert's stewardship, Yalumba Wine
Company has emerged as one of Australia's
greatest wine industry success stories.
Warwick McKibbin brings a wealth of expertise
and experience in two of the biggest and
most crucial factors impacting the future
of agriculture and agribusiness - global
economie trends and climate change.
