Rabobank plans to boost its profile in Republic

Dutch financial services group Rabobank has confirmed that it plans to sharply raise its profile in the Irish financial services market.

The Dutch co-operative bank will offer a range of personal banking services through its online banking service Rabobank Direct. However, there are no plans to compete directly with recent arrivals Danske Bank and Bank of Scotland (Ireland) in branch banking.

It is unlikely to offer mainstream current account banking, something it ended at former State-owned ACCBank after its €165 million acquisition in 2001.

Instead, Rabobank is likely to target savings and lending products for the Irish market.

The announcement, which will be made formally this week, comes months after the Dutch group broke off joint venture negotiations with EBS Building Society.

Rabobank was also seen as a leading contender for National Irish Bank and Northern Bank, when they were put up for sale last year by National Australia Group. In the event, NIB and Northern were acquired by European rival Danske Bank.

Last year, Jan Molenaar, deputy chief executive of ACCBank, said Rabobank was looking at investment opportunities in the Irish financial services market.

Rabobank, which is owned by 288 local banks, is the second- largest player in the Dutch market with assets of €475 billion. It roots lie in the agricultural sector and it is still the dominant lender to agribusiness in its home market.

It has around 40 per cent of the personal savings market in the Netherlands and is also a major player in the mortgage and corporate markets.

Rabobank, which operates in 37 different countries, has had a presence in the Republic since 1990, when its insurance subsidiary Interpolis established a base here.

Interpolis was subsequently merged with another Dutch insurance group Eureko, parent of the Friends First group. Rabobank has a 37 per cent stake in the Eureko group.

In 1994, the bank established an IFSC operation and is now understood to be the second-largest foreign operator in the IFSC.

Rabobank reported profits after tax of €1.54 billion last year on revenue of just over €10 billion.