Rabobank Group

1-4-2011 | Press Releases

Rabobank announced today that it has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to establish a banking presence in India through a maiden branch to be located in Mumbai. This will help Rabobank to substantially expand its current range of services in the Indian market. Rabobank’s application for this license is part of the Bank’s international strategy to expand its activities in major growth markets with a strong food and agriculture base. It also strengthens further Rabobank’s position as the Dutch bank with the largest international branch network.

With the banking license, Rabobank will broaden its product suite in India. Rabobank in India will be able to accept deposits and use its balance sheet to provide working capital financing to clients. The license will also permit the Bank to deal in foreign exchange, domestic fixed income products and trade finance.
 
Sipko Schat, member of the Executive Board of Rabobank Group says “We are extremely pleased with this development and to have an increased presence in the fast growing financial services sector in India. India is a key country for Rabobank. We are now able to offer a broader range of products and services to our Dutch, Indian and international clients.”
 
With India’s GDP estimated to grow by around 7-9% annually, by 2030 it is projected that India would become the third largest economy in the world behind only China and the US. India’s Food & Agriculture sector is currently estimated to be €185 billion and it is estimated to reach a size of € 400 billion by 2025.
 
Currently, Rabobank is present in India through a wholly owned subsidiary Rabo India Finance (RIF), which is registered as a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC). Established in 1998, RIF provides customized solutions in core competencies such as Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisition, Equity & Corporate Advisory, Renewable Energy & Infrastructure Finance, Food & Agribusiness Research & Advisory services.
 
Further, the Rabobank Foundation has been supporting activities in India for the past 6 years and has funded over € 10 million in 105 projects with technical assistance, capacity building and through soft loans and guarantees in the areas of microfinance, organic farming, farm produce aggregation and farmer cooperatives & producer unions.
 
In addition Rabobank is the sponsor of India Agribusiness Fund, The US$ 120 million Food & Agri sector private equity fund in Asia. The fund is sponsored by Rabobank with a 25% share of the committed capital.