RaboDirect Welcomes Guarantee from Dutch Government

RaboDirect, part of the Rabobank group which has the same AAA rating as the Irish Government, said that it welcomed the move by the Dutch government to increase its deposit guarantee to €100,000. The guarantee applies to RaboDirect which is regulated by the Dutch Central Bank.

Welcoming the announcement Roel van Veggel, General Manager, RaboDirect said "RaboDirect is part of Rabobank Group the world's safest privately owned bank and our AAA rating which we had for the last 27 years already means the Irish customers are dealing with a very solid bank. However this move by the Dutch Central Bank now provides additional reassurance to our Irish customers. It brings back clarity and creates a more level playing field in the banking markets. Our customers also have the reassurance of knowing that as a Dutch owned bank regulated by the Dutch Central Bank, we are not exposed to the issues and challenges of the Irish Banking system . In addition, as Rabobank is not listed on the stock market, we are not subject to the same volatility caused by speculators, short sellers and the like".

The Rabobank Group recently reported interim results for 2008 which showed a 12% increase ahead of targets for the first six months of 2008. Rabobank Group has assets amounting to €567 billion exceeding the combined assets of all six Irish banks.

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RaboDirect is part of the AAA rated Dutch co-operative Rabobank Group.