The move follows strong growth in RabobankÆs leveraged finance business in Europe, which has brought it into contact with larger financial sponsors in the region in recent years.
ôOur goal is to improve our efforts towards sponsors through involvement of all product lines, especially in RabobankÆs focused areas of food and agriculture sectors,ö says Smit.
Smit began work at Rabobank in 2000 and worked as an analyst in the economic research department, and as a relationship manager for clients in the food and agriculture sectors. Prior to taking up this latest position, she worked in the global leveraged corporate finance department in Utrecht, Holland.
She holds a masters of science in international economics from the University of Maastricht.
Rabobank yesterday announced strong annual results, with net profit up 14% to Ç2.7 billion from Ç2.3 billion on 2006, despite the tumults of the global credit crisis. Tier 1 capital was 10.7% of total risk-weighted assets and the return on equity was 10.1%. ôVirtually all group entities contributed to this increase in profit, which reflects not only the proper spread of our activities but also the strength of our risk profile,ö says Bert Heemskerk, chairman of the executive board. The bank boasts a triple-A rating.
"Our strong balance sheet allows us to keep assets on our books, which means we can offer our clients more. Also, I think our prudent nature means that our commitment to a deal is a signal to others about its quality, which is also an attractive feature for clients," says Smit.
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