Rabobank AU | Our Story
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Our story

Rabobank story

From rural co-op to global leader

We were founded in 1898 by farmers looking to support each other’s businesses and give rural communities access to fair financing.

Now we’re one of the world’s largest rural lenders but we remain true to our core mission: to create value for our clients, employees and the rural communities where we work.
Read the Rabobank story

We work for you, not for shareholders

Our cooperative origins mean that we don’t have to answer to shareholder demands, so we can focus on you, and take a long-term view of your business.

We reinvest 100% of our deposits into Australian agribusiness, supporting the livelihood of farmers and rural communities.

At the farm gate

"It's refreshing to be part of a bank with such strong integrity and values.
As Rabobank has no shareholders, the sole priority is our clients. Our genuine and pure focus is food and agribusiness."
Wayne Saunders, Rabobank Branch Manager, Mildura

For farmers

By farmers, for farmers

Our focus is on food and agribusiness, pure and simple. Our strength is built upon the commitment and smarts of our people. We believe in 'old fashioned' personal service and have a deep knowledge of agribusiness right across the value chain, which gives you a significant competitive advantage.

And with many of our rural managers being from the land, they don’t just understand farming, they live and breathe it.

We connect people

and share knowledge

All up we have 400 rural specialists in 61 branches across Australia with a wealth of local, on-farm and of course banking knowledge.

To add to this, we provide access to a host of specialists whose expertise ranges from succession planning and sustainable farm systems through to commodity price and foreign exchange risk management, along with 80 international food and agribusiness analysts; and a global network of millions of farming clients in 40 countries.

So as our client, you have a great source of knowledge to tap into. This can help you to make better business decisions, and foster new business-to-business opportunities in other countries and along the supply chain.

At the farm gate

"I grew up on a dairy farm in Denison, so having the opportunity to open a branch and build a team in Sale, Victoria wasn’t just a ‘natural fit’ - it allowed me to return home and help support my local community."
Tony Anderson, Rabobank Branch Manager, Sale

Silos

Investing in the future

of farming

Our support of the food and agribusiness industry is underpinned by strong engagement and collaboration with our clients. We have 11 Client Councils looking at solutions to industry and rural community issues like agricultural education, succession planning and environmental sustainability.

We further invest in food and agribusiness by sponsoring more than 300 farming events and groups; as well as running programs such as the Rabobank Leadership Awards, farm-specific ‘mini MBAs’ and Global Farmers and Young Farmers Master Classes.

We also take an advocacy role to drive the future prosperity of the industry through initiatives like the F20 (Food 20) Summit for global food security.