Business clients
Growth in lending
Strategic reorientation in agricultural market
30 Rabobank Group Annual Report 2003
Lending by the local Rabobanks to businesses increased by EUR 2.9
billion to EUR 54.3 billion in the year under review, up 6%. Corporate
lending in the trade, industry and services sector rose by 5% in 2003.
At year-end, loans granted amounted to EUR 35.5 (33.7) billion, with the
strongest growth in the healthcare, building and transport sectors.
Lending to the primary agricultural sector rose by 6%. At year-end, loans
granted to this sector totalled EUR 18.7 (17.7) billion.
In the year under review, Rabobank undertook a strategic reorientation
in the way in which it provides financial products to enterprises in the
entire food chain in the Netherlands. In the process, Rabobank reaffirmed
the great value it attaches to servicing the primary agricultural sector and
the processing industry in the Netherlands, in line with its international
focus on the food agriculture business. It was decided to co-ordinate
the services to the entire food chain in the Netherlands from a single
point in the organisation.This has led to a bundling of forces in the
Food and Agriculture domain.
In response to developments in the primary sector, the efforts of the
food and agriculture domain are focused especially on the larger
enterprises in such sectors as glasshouse horticulture and dairy farming,
resulting, among other things, in innovative financing constructions
such as the first sale and leaseback transaction in horticulture for
environmentally friendly investments. Due in part to the new approach,
the downward trend in Rabobank's market share in the primary
agricultural and horticultural sector was halted. At the same time,
there was a marked recovery in customer satisfaction and greater
Rabobank visibility and recognition in the entire agricultural chain in
the Netherlands.
The outbreak of avian influenza commanded a great deal of attention in
2003.Thanks to the local banks' individual approach towards affected
businesses - which is our strength - good solutions could be found for
these businesses in most cases. During the efforts to control the out-
'Our daughter wanted to live in Amsterdam.
But the house prices there are sky high.
Certainly for a recent graduate, even one
with a good job with a media company.
She fell in love with a renovated apartment
in an old neighbourhood. But the mortgage
offered to her required additional security,
including supplementary life insurance,
making the monthly costs just too high.
Rabobank's Generation mortgage was the
answer. As her parents, we stand surety
for her payments.That costs us nothing.
We only step in if she defaults on her
obligations. Christina now pays, on a net
basis, 250 euros less each month than if she
