International retail
activities
Europe
Americas
Australia New Zealand
Over the past years, Rabobank Group has
extended its international retail activities
through organic growth, acquisitions of local
retail banks and new activities. The latter included
activities in Brazil and Chile and the launch of
new Internet banks. Retail activities are being
developed in the regions Europe, Americas,
Australia New Zealand and Asia. In addition,
clients are being served via three Internet
banks, in Belgium, Ireland and New Zealand.
In Europe, Rabobank International develops its
retail activities in Ireland via ACCBank and in
Poland via its 35% minority interest in Bank
Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ). ACCBank
traditionally has close links with the agricultural
sector. In Poland, BGZ is an important bank in
the agricultural and food processing sector. In
view of its agricultural background, BGZ offers
excellent prospects for further expansion of the
international retail banking business. In 2006,
BGZ started selling Robeco investment funds.
In the United States, Rabobank International,
through Rabobank North America, performs
retail activities in California. The offer made in
October 2006 for the shares of the Mid-State
Bank Trust is aimed at further expanding our
current market position in one of the chief
agricultural areas in the USA. This acquisition
will be completed in early 2007, bringing the
number of Rabobank's branch offices in
California from almost 50 to more than 90.
In the year under review, Community Bank of
Central California was integrated in the existing
Rabobank North America organisation. In 2007,
Assistance to Chinese rural credit co-operative
Rabobank will assist United Rural Cooperative Bank of
Hangzhou (URCB) in its further development, having
acquired a ten per cent interest in this Chinese bank in
July 2006. As part of the same transaction, International
Finance Corporation, a World Bank subsidiary, acquired
a five per cent interest. Rabobank's investment was the
first foreign equity participation in a Chinese rural
co-operative bank and serves as a valuable precedent
for the process of restructuring and reforming China's
35,000 rural credit co-operatives. Initiated by the
Chinese government, reforming the rural credit
co-operative system will have a profound impact on
rural development and poverty alleviation in China.
Besides funds, Rabobank is also deploying its expertise
to help further corporatise and modernize URCB,
including advising on strengthening the administration
and management, business development, distribution
policy, marketing, credit control, risk management and
the development of IT systems. Our Chinese partners
value Rabobank's co-operative principles as they
correspond in many ways with their own co-operative
banking system.
Mid-State Bank Trust will likewise be
incorporated in the existing structure.
In Brazil, the branch office network was
expanded in 2006, with more than ten offices
now operational outside Sao Paulo. Thanks
in part to this expansion, lending grew
significantly in 2006.
As is the case in the Americas region, the retail
banking activities in Australia New Zealand
are focused on the food agri sector. The key
services offered are: granting loans to the
primary agricultural sector, offering banking
services to middle segment enterprises with
Wholesale banking and international retail banking 41
