11 September 2008
Specialist agricultural lender Rabobank has been named the best agribusiness bank in Australia by the independent Merrill Lynch Business Banking Review.
It is the fourth year in a row that Rabobank has received this rating.
Rabobank was recognised for its superior performance, topping the rankings for advice, product offering, response and growth momentum.
The Merrill Lynch review found “Rabo a clear leader (which) dominates most elements of the customer value proposition”.
The review – which looked at the performance of the leading banks/financial institutions providing banking services to the Australian rural sector – found “looking across a range of franchise measures incorporating service, advice, product, response and growth momentum, we rate Rabo the strongest franchise on all dimensions by a considerable margin”.*
The world’s leading food and agribusiness bank, Rabobank is one of Australia’s largest rural lenders and a major provider of corporate financial services to the food and agribusiness sectors.
Rabobank general manager Rural Australia Peter Knoblanche said latest rating cemented Rabobank’s position as the top-ranked provider of agribusiness financial services in Australia.
“Pleasingly the review found that Rabobank clients returned the highest overall level of satisfaction with their bank relationship. This reinforces our philosophy of providing the
best service, value and expertise to our clients, while establishing mutually-beneficial relationships with both customers and the community,” he said.
In the area of advice, the review found “Rabo ranks well above peers on all metrics” based on customers’ perception of the provision of access to specialists, the knowledge and expertise of bank representatives, the bank’s understanding of the customer’s business and its history and the provision of sound business banking advice.
In addition, the report found “Rabo ranked highest across all product perception measures”, including product range, product pricing, competitiveness and the provision of online banking services.
Measuring banks on the quality of their response and flexibility, the report said “Rabo ranks as best in class on each aspect of this measure”.
*The latest Merrill Lynch Business Banking Review used data gathered in the 12 months to May 2008 by TNS – Business Finance Monitor.
Rabobank Australia is a part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 110 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank has a AAA credit rating and is ranked as one of the world’s safest banks by Global Finance magazine. Rabobank operates in 43 countries, servicing the needs of more than nine million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1500 offices and branches. Rabobank Australia is one of Australia’s leading rural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the Australian food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 50 locations throughout Australia.
Contact
For further information please contact Denise Shaw, Public Relations (Tel: 61 2 8115-2744) or email on sydney.mediarelations@rabobank.com.