|
The National announced plans today to open an Agribusiness Credit Centre in Albury Wodonga, employing 19 agribusiness financial specialists in July this year. Agribusiness Financial Services General Manager, Mike Carroll, said the move is a significant boost to the National's presence in Albury Wodonga. "This new credit centre, to be located in Albury, will support the work our Agribusiness Managers do for farming customers throughout Victoria, Southern NSW, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania," Mr Carroll said. "We are creating specialist roles which will provide a new level of expertise in agricultural credit at the National in Albury Wodonga." Specialists in the centre will focus on agricultural credit and will also conduct industry research and develop and maintain the largest farm financial performance database in the southern hemisphere. The Agribusiness Credit Centre will also become a centre of excellence for product innovation. A dedicated product manager will ensure National financial products continue to lead the market and provide for all of the needs of farming customers. "Much of the support work for this new centre is currently being done by our agribusiness bankers themselves. This move will improve customer service by freeing up time for bankers to spend with customers on farms. The Agribusiness Credit Centre will add to the National's already strong presence in Albury Wodonga. The National employees 78 people, including four agribusiness bankers, in seven centres in the region. "Albury Wodonga is a perfect choice as a base for our southern credit operation," Mr Carroll said. "It is at the heart of a significant and diverse agricultural region and, among other benefits, it was a popular choice among our employees." The National is also opening a similar Agribusiness Credit Centre in Toowoomba to service Northern NSW and Queensland. Mr Carroll said: "The National is absolutely committed to agriculture. Through our support of agricultural productivity groups and sponsorships in rural Australia we have ploughed over a million dollars back into agriculture over the last three years. "We also provide professional careers based in regional Australia for the sons and daughters of Australia's farmers. Over the last two years we have employed over 60 young agricultural enthusiasts, making us one of the largest employers of agricultural graduates in Australia." The National's employs 450 agribusiness staff in 100 locations around the country.
|
