Rabobank growth up despite crisis

The Jakarta Post, Wed, 11/12/2008 10:44 AM  

Rabobank International Indonesia is on track to hit 30 percent growth in lending this year despite adverse global economic conditions, having posted a solid third quarter financial performance. 

Loans outstanding as of the end of the third quarter stood at Rp 9.64 trillion (around US$885 million), 30 percent up on the Rp 7.47 trillion booked in the equivalent period a year earlier. 

Of total loans, 52 percent of credits were channeled to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) said Danny Hartono, bank vice president director. 

"We will try to increase the development of our corporate loan sector and we will also continue to concentrate on SMEs," Danny said of the bank's full-year growth target. 

He was speaking during the launch of a new branch office in Jakarta, which was also attended by visiting Dutch Finance Minister Maria Van der Hoeven and Indonesian central bank deputy governor Siti Fajriyah. 

Geert Embrechts, Rabobank's chief financial and risk officer, said that SMEs, food and agriculture, including crude palm oil (CPO) would remain the most promising sectors for credits despite the global financial turbulence and downturn. 

"We expect that the CPO price will stay volatile for six months, but the outlook for this sector remains positive," he said, referring to recent falls in CPO prices. 

Rabobank International Indonesia is the local affiliate of the Dutch financial giant Rabobank, which earlier in the year acquired Haga Bank and Bank Haga Kita. 

After the merger, the new entity's assets became worth a total of Rp 10.2 trillion and it is now considered to be Indonesia's largest international bank in terms of network coverage with around 95 branches, mostly spread outside of Java. -- JP/dis