Press Relations

5th December 2001
Rabobank Ireland

Rabobank Ireland plc (RI plc), acting on behalf of Rabobank Group, confirm that negotiations have been successfully concluded in relation to the acquisition of ACCBank at an agreed price of €165 million. This relates to the purchase of 100 per cent of the share capital of ACCBank.

RI plc, a subsidiary of Rabobank International, the Rabobank Group's international corporate and investment banking arm, is one of the larger banks in Ireland with a balance sheet size of €17 billion and Tier I capital of €465 million. Since its establishment in Dublin's International Financial Services Center in 1994, the business has focused on the provision of wholesale and investment banking. Following the acquisition of ACCBank, Rabobank Group will be the first continental European financial institution to develop a retail presence in Ireland alongside existing Irish wholesale and investment banking operations.

This announcement concludes a five-month process of due diligence and contract negotiations by Rabobank and their advisers KPMG Corporate Finance and McCann Fitzgerald Solicitors. Speaking at the announcement, Fergus Murphy, Managing Director of Rabobank Ireland plc said, "Rabobank Group sees Ireland as a good geographical location to develop a retail presence and ACCBank represents a good strategic fit to expand our "Country Banking" strategy. Rabobank, which has a heritage in rural based banking, is committed to developing ACCBank's presence in Ireland."

Rabobank's "Country Banking" strategy is focused on developing rural based banking in countries with a strong food and agricultural sector. ACCBank's retail network and focus on the agriculture and SME sectors, represents a natural fit to the Rabobank Group.

Murphy added, "We are satisfied that the long negotiations have come to a positive outcome and expect that the acquisition will be concluded in the first quarter of 2002, subject to the approval of the Oireachtas. We look forward to working with ACCBank, under the Rabobank Group umbrella, in developing it as a "state of the art" niche player in Ireland."

Pieter van der Weijden, Head of International Retail for the Rabobank Group, said "We are impressed by the significant progress undertaken by the management team of ACCBank in restructuring and refocusing the bank and its business model over the last two years. The bank is well placed to continue to grow as a trusted financial advisor to its customers and to provide a range of financial services to meet their needs - a relationship strategy that reflects Rabobank's own approach to banking. These aspects of ACCBank formed a strong attraction to Rabobank culminating in today's acquisition announcement.

The strong portfolio of Rabobank Group products, which are among the most competitive in Europe, will be made available to ACCBank, strengthening not just the business of ACC Bank but also that of its customers.

In addition to its home market in the Netherlands, Rabobank has successfully developed its "Country Banking" strategy in Australia and New Zealand along with building a strong reputation in the agribusiness sector, not only in Europe but also the Americas and Asia. With its roots and expertise in the agricultural sector, Rabobank is well placed to further develop this strong niche position.

For further information please contact:

Hugh Gillanders or Sheila Caulfield
Edelman PR
Dublin, Ireland
Phone: 00 353 1 678 9333
Fax: 00 353 1 661 4408

Jan Dost
Rabobank Group Communications Department
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Phone: 00 31 0 30 216 2411

Ends

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