14 January 2003
Primary Industry Bank of Australia (PIBA) has expanded its Victorian network with the opening of a Shepparton branch.
The PIBA office, located in Welsford Street, will be officially opened on Thursday, January 16.
PIBA general manager, rural Australia Neil Dobbin said the Shepparton branch would enable the bank to better service and support the community in the Goulburn Valley region.
“This region is a major horticultural centre, but there is also a great deal of diversity with significant dairying, broad-acre cropping and grain growing. Establishing a presence here will enable us to better help the region’s farmers grow their business by providing agriculturally-focused finance products and personal on-farm service.”
A subsidiary of the international AAA-rated Rabobank, PIBA is one of Australia’s leading rural financiers.
The opening of the Shepparton branch brings PIBA’s Victorian branch network to four.
Mr Dobbin said PIBA had researched rural areas across Australia and selected new branch locations based on which areas showed the greatest need for its services.
“PIBA’s commitment to the Australian rural community has meant that it has grown to be one of the country’s leading rural financiers. Our focus on local knowledge and on-farm service has allowed the bank to develop extensive knowledge across nearly every primary production region in Australia,” he said.
The Shepparton branch will be managed by Daniel Tribolet. Daniel, who comes from a farming background in Tasmania, has an extensive knowledge of farming and rural lending.
He has worked with PIBA since 1996 and, before moving to Shepparton, was the rural lending manager at the bank’s Swan Hill branch. He has a degree in agriculture from the University of Tasmania.
Daniel and his team will be focusing on providing clients with rural loans, equipment finance, farm management deposits (FMDs) and retail deposits.
PIBA’s rural loan product is specifically designed to provide flexible long-term finance to primary producers. It offers farmers the flexibility to make important financial decisions at the right time for their business, vital in an environment of constantly changing seasonal conditions and commodity prices.
Recognising that plant and equipment items are crucial to agricultural production, PIBA offers access to one of the most flexible equipment finance packages available. The package provides competitive and potentially tax-effective ways of financing farm plant and equipment, with up to 100 per cent finance available to conserve cash flow.
FMDs are designed to assist primary producers wanting to minimise cash-flow risk and smooth their business cycle, by enabling them to set aside pre-tax income from profitable years to help manage business during the cyclical downturns of the agricultural industry.
Contact
For further information please contact Denise Shaw, Public Relations Manager (Tel: +61 2 8233 8744) or email on sydney.mediarelations@rabobank.com.