Rabobank appoints new head to WA Great Southern business

Agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank has appointed Craig Matthews to head up its business in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

Based in Albany, Mr Matthews has had a lifelong association with agriculture, growing up on a mixed livestock and grains property in the Central Midlands, and working in agribusiness-related roles for the past two decades.

Announcing the appointment, Rabobank regional manager for Western Australia Crawford Taylor said Mr Matthews brought a strong combination of banking experience and understanding of the rural sector to the role.

“With 14 years of agri banking experience in Perth and, more recently, the Central Wheat Belt, Craig is well positioned to lead the bank’s team of agri finance specialists in the region who have clocked up more than 80 years’ of combined banking experience between them,” Mr Taylor said.

“With the Albany branch covering a diverse mix of agricultural enterprise and a big geographical footprint – with a remit of some 26,000 square kilometres – it was important we appointed someone with strong people skills and Craig has already shown he has the capacity to know his clients and the region well.”

Recently moving to Albany with his young family, Mr Matthews has travelled extensively around the region since taking up the reins of the branch.

“And now spending most of the working week out on-farm visiting clients, it has shown me how productive and diverse the farming businesses are here, with everything from dairy, viticulture and horticulture to broadacre cropping and livestock,” he said.

Mr Matthews said the resilience of local farmers in the wake of recent tough seasonal conditions was also evident, with the bank “very committed to supporting our clients through this challenging time”.

Mr Matthews takes over the role from Kathryn Brown who has recently moved to Launceston to head up the bank’s business in Tasmania.

The Albany team consists of rural managers Martin Anderson, Simon Bigwood and Jenna Lester and senior analyst Sabine Lawrence. While previous long-standing branch manager Ian Donaldson remains in the branch in an internal role.

To contact Craig Matthews please call 0428 956 662.

Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is a part of the global Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has nearly 120 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 agricultural 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.

Media contacts:

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
Phone: 02 4855 1111 or 0418 216 103
Email: skye.ward@rabobank.com