Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group (RANZG) has recorded its sixth consecutive year of profit growth, posting a net profit after tax (NPAT) of A$277.8 million for 2015. This represented an increase of 5.8 per cent ($15.3 million) on the previous year.
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group managing director Thos Gieskes said the 2015 results reflected a solid performance by Rabobank in Australia and New Zealand throughout the year, in an environment of strong competition and increasing regulatory requirements.
In particular, he said, the 2015 results were driven by strong performances in the bank’s Rural & Retail businesses, characterised by volume growth and disciplined margin management.
Mr Gieskes said key financial measures had again improved for the Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group in 2015.
Total income for the year to December 31, 2015 was up on 2014 by 3.4 per cent ($24.9 million), with revenue of $750.3 million.
Total costs for the year remained almost flat, increasing by just 0.2 per cent as a result of careful cost management, Mr Gieskes said. “And this was despite increasing local and global regulatory and compliance requirements,” he said.
Provisions were also significantly down. “Positively, the level of specific provision charges reduced again in 2015 to $42.5 million (down 10.1 per cent) from continued good credit management of the loan portfolio,” he said.
RANZG’s total cost-to-income ratio was 42.2 per cent. This is down from 43.5 per cent in 2014, and continues to compare favourably against the Australian banking industry average, Mr Gieskes said.
RANZG’s two primary local banking entities in Australia and New Zealand – Rabobank Australia Limited and Rabobank New Zealand Limited – both maintained a strong capital position.
Total capital ratio – a key measure of solvency – increased to 13.82 per cent for Rabobank Australia Limited at December 31, 2014, while Rabobank New Zealand Limited’s decreased slightly to 13.72 per cent, both well above the regulatory capital requirements.
Part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading food and agribusiness banking specialist, Rabobank Australia and New Zealand Group is one of Australasia’s largest rural lenders and a major provider of corporate and business banking services to the region’s food and agribusiness sector.
RANZG’s Country (rural) Banking division once again achieved good growth against strong competition in 2015, Mr Gieskes said. The division’s revenue improved by 4.7 per cent on the previous year.
RANZG’s total retail deposits – including with specialist online retail savings business RaboDirect – remained above $15 billion, but down 2.6 per cent on the previous year, as the bank improved the segmentation of its deposit base to meet liquidity and funding requirements.
Mr Gieskes said all profits earned by Rabobank Australia and New Zealand Group were retained and reinvested in the local markets in Australia and New Zealand.
The local Rabobank Australia & New Zealand results follow the recent announcement from global parent, cooperative Rabobank Group, of a net profit of EUR 2.2 billion for 2015 (an improvement of 22 per cent). The Group’s Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio and total capital ratio – a key measure of solvency – was a strong 13.5 per cent and 23.2 per cent respectively, while the leverage ratio rose to 5.1 per cent. The liquidity position remained strong, with the total liquidity buffer increasing 22.5 per cent to EUR 98 billion.
Mr Gieskes said RANZG had strong expectations for the year ahead, particularly in the Australian market, where agricultural commodities were overall faring well and the environment was conducive for expansionary investment intentions in the food and agribusiness sector.
“The bank remains more measured in our expectations of the New Zealand market in the year ahead, with this country considerably more impacted by the current global dairy market downturn. That said, while it will undoubtedly be a difficult year for the New Zealand agricultural sector, and specifically those involved in dairy there, we do expect to see continuing business growth there. And certainly longer term, our outlook for the New Zealand dairy sector remains positive.”
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is a part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 115 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 40 countries, servicing the needs of approximately 8.6 million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is one of Australasia’s leading rural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the region’s food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 94 branches throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Denise Shaw
Head of Media Relations
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand
Phone: 02 8115 2744 or 0439 603 525
Email: denise.shaw@rabobank.com
Skye Ward
Media Relations Manager
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand
Phone: 02 4855 1111 or 0418 216 103
Email: skye.ward@rabobank.com