€46m profit for Rabo agri arm

The agri-business lending subsidiary of the Dutch Rabobank group, Rabo-bank Ireland PLC, has reported a profit of €46m in its annual report for 2012.

Rabobank Ireland CEO Kevin Knightly said the Irish banking environment was still difficult but that he was happy with the bank’s performance.

“The environment continues to be challenging in Ireland and in the wider eurozone, but overall we are pleased with our progress, and in particular with our strengthening position in the food and agribusiness sector, which forms such an important part of the Irish economy,” he said.

“We will continue to concentrate on our core strengths in this sector, in line with Rabobank’s unique expertise and its position as the leading food and agribusiness bank globally.”

The recovery in the bank’s figures was put down to charges related to a Greek sovereign bond in 2011 that were not repeated in 2012.

The bank’s operational income increased by 10%, excluding a one-off €9.9m loss due to the unwinding of some hedging derivatives.

There was a €2.2bn decline in assets, which the bank said was as a result of a reduction in lending to other Rabobank Group entities and the repayment of some bonds.

The Rabobank group has three subsidiaries in Ireland: Rabobank Ireland PLC, RaboDirect, and ACC Bank PLC.

Rabodirect, the consumer-focused sister bank of Rabobank Ireland, celebrated its eight birthday in Ireland by announcing steady growth in its customer base to 90,000 and deposits of over €4bn.