Rabobank New Zealand has announced the appointment of Karin van Selm to the position of Group Executive, Wholesale Banking.
Ms van Selm commenced in the role – heading the bank’s wholesale banking business for large corporate clients in New Zealand and Australia - on August 1. She takes over from Els Kamphof, who has been appointed to head the regional Wholesale Banking operations for Rabobank in the Netherlands and Africa.
Rabobank New Zealand CEO Todd Charteris said Ms van Selm – who was previously the General Manager of Corporate Banking for Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group – had a strong understanding of the corporate banking needs of major companies involved in New Zealand’s food and agribusiness sector.
“Karin brings extensive experience and a very solid track record working with food and agribusiness corporates in New Zealand, Australia and Europe,” he said.
Ms van Selm, who is based in Sydney, had been in her previous role with Rabobank since January 2016.
The world’s leading food and agribusiness banking, Rabobank is one of New Zealand’s largest agricultural banks and a major provider of specialist corporate financial services to the region’s food and agribusiness sector.
Commencing her career as a tax lawyer at Ernst & Young in the Netherlands, Ms van Selm worked in structured finance at ING Barings, before moving to Australia in 2005 and joining Westpac, where she worked in various roles in its institutional banking Consumer and Agribusiness team, responsible for a large portfolio of food and agribusiness clients.
She holds a Master of Laws, specialising in international tax and economics.
Ms van Selm said the future opportunities for New Zealand and Australia’s corporate food and agri businesses were “exciting”, with both countries producing world-class agricultural produce and with rapidly-growing export markets in close proximity in the region.
“That said, businesses in the F&A sector are challenged to remain competitive in the various commodity markets, faced with increasing costs of labour, water, energy and insurance, as well as stricter regulatory environments,” she said.
Ms van Selm said Rabobank’s specialist knowledge of the food and agricultural supply chain provided significant opportunities for the bank to collaborate with its clients to grow and strengthen the sector – including in the development of premium products, leveraging provenance, and investing in technology to drive operational efficiency, productivity and encourage a sustainable agricultural value chain.
“Rabobank, with its both global and local reach in food and agriculture, and its deep understanding of the various segments of the agri market, is well positioned to enable, facilitate and connect our clients in the value chain and support them with their growth ambitions,” she said.
Rabobank New Zealand is a part of the global Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 120 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 40 countries, servicing the needs of about 10 million clients worldwide through a network of close to 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank New Zealand is one of the country's leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the New Zealand food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 32 offices throughout New Zealand.
Media contacts:
David Johnston
Media Relations Manager
Rabobank New Zealand
Phone: 04 819 2711 or 027 477 8153
Email: david.johnston@rabobank.com
Denise Shaw
Head of Media Relations
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand
Phone: +612 8115 2744 or +61 2 439 603 525
Email: denise.shaw@rabobank.com