Rabobank has been voted Best Company to Do Business with in Napa County in the 2011 NorthBay biz
readers poll.
Rabobank in Napa has something the San Francisco Giants would love to get their hands on: A repeat of their 2010 championship.
Last year, Napa Community Bank earned top honors as Best Company to Do Business With in Napa County in the NorthBay biz readers poll. The bank was later acquired by Rabobank, N.A., a California community bank. But, says Dennis Pedisich, regional president of the North Coast Wine Country region, which includes Rabobank’s Napa branch, only the name changed, not the award-winning business practices that propelled it into the top spot on our list.
“It’s certainly great to be recognized once again,” he says. “I think the key to our winning the award twice in a row is that we have the same dedicated staff as we had before the acquisition. The key to any bank’s success is its people. Because most banks offer a similar product line, it’s the level of service that makes the difference. The culture of service is instilled in our employees.”
With the change in name and ownership last year, Pedisich and the other 22 employees of Rabobank’s Napa branch have worked hard to reaffirm the excellent reputation the financial institution had earned as Napa Community Bank.
“After the acquisition, we’ve had to re-prove ourselves, even though we continue to be very visible in the community and have the same employees,” Pedisich says. “We’ve always had a strong commitment to Napa, not only from the standpoint of employees serving on nonprofit boards and such, but also through dollar donations to local organizations. Our giving hasn’t slowed down. We continue to provide major support for the 4-H Livestock Auction at the Napa County Fair and the Napa Valley Grapegrowers organization, among others.”
Pedisich and his staff have spent time educating customers and the community about Rabobank. “Many inquire about where the name Rabobank, pronounced like ‘Cabo,’ originated,” he says. “It’s derived from two banks in the Netherlands which merged in 1972, forming one central cooperative bank—the Cooperative Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank. Taking the first two letters of each bank, it became Rabobank.
“Rabobank is one of the 25 largest banks in the world,” he continues. “It’s headquartered in the Netherlands and has operations in 48 countries. Rabobank, N.A. is part of the Rabobank Group, one of the world’s safest banks with a triple A credit rating from Standard & Poors and Moody’s Investors Service. And yet, when Rabobank acquired Napa Community Bank, we knew little about it. Most of Rabobank’s growth in California has been through the acquisition of relatively small community banks.
“There are now nearly 120 branches in California, and all of them are in rural areas; you won’t find a Rabobank branch in San Francisco, San Diego or San Jose. We have a strong emphasis on agriculture, which makes us a great fit for Napa and Sonoma counties.” Pedisich adds that a new branch recently opened in Sonoma.
Rabobank Napa is “very attentive to the needs of its business clients,” Pedisich explains. “One of the benefits of being part of the Rabobank culture, versus the U.S. bank culture, is that we’re in it for the long haul. In the United States, banks tend to think in shorter terms—going in and out of industries as they overperform and underperform, like dairies and automobiles. The Rabobank culture is to stand by in good times and in bad.”
As part of its business program, Rabobank has loan specialists dedicated to agricultural lending. Rabobank, N.A. also has a division dedicated to financing commercial and farm solar projects.
Pedisich also points to his bank’s extensive involvement in the community as a reason it’s so well regarded by its business clients. “Our employees form strong relationships with our business clients,” he explains. “We see them in the community at different events and serve with them on nonprofit boards, so it becomes much more than just a business relationship.”
The Rabobank muscle has other benefits as well. “We’re not a big box bank, but we’re also not limited by small community bank legal lending limits,” Pedisich says. “We have a lot to offer. We’re a cooperative—there are no shareholders, no dividends and no Wall Street pressure. We make decisions and invest profits to benefit our customers and to grow and sustain both the bank and the communities it serves.”
And these days, for both consumers and businesses, that’s a very good thing.
