Starting with January 2013, Dutch banker Robert Rekkers is the general manager of Agricover Credit IFN, after he was appointed a non-executive member on the board of directors of Agricover.
In an interview granted exclusively to BURSA, Robert Rekkers spoke about the huge potential of Romanian agriculture, and about the opportunities this sector can provide.
In Romania, Robert Rekkers was first the manager of ABN Amro, and he then worked as CEO of Banca Transilvania, for nine years.
Inexplicably, in the beginning of 2012, Rekkers resigned from the management positions he held at BT, even though his term had not expired. His departure led to many speculations in the banking market, because the bank's results at the time were excellent, and Rekkers was considered one of the best bankers in Romania.
He said that he has agreed with the officials of BT not to speak about the reasons of his departure, but he told us that he is proud of what he has achieved at Banca Transilvania. He still remains a shareholder of BT, but he says that he has now moved on to a new stage in his life.
Read the interview below.
Reporter: The results for 2012 are very good, especially given this period of crisis. How long has Agricover Credit IFN been active on the market?
Robert Rekkers: The net profit of Agricover Credit IFN last year reached 11.2 million lei, up 46% compared to last year. The value of the loans granted has advanced to 413 million lei, up 38% over 2011.
Created in 2008, Agricover Credit IFN is the only non-banking financial institution in Romanai that provides financial products dedicated exclusively to farmers in the harvest and zootechnical sectors.
The idea of providing financing to agriculture was born earlier, but it only became concrete when demand has expressed itself in a real and sustainable way. Many farm
