Bank officials say Dutch firm’s acquisition of bank will result
in improved service, products
Hollister – About three months after announcing its intention to buy Community Bank of Central California, the Dutch firm Rabobank announced this week that it has completed the purchase, which officials say will afford customer, including those who bank at the First Street branch, with improved service and products.
In October, Central Coast Bancorp, former owner of Community Bank, agreed to sell the bank to Dutch-owned Rabobank for $371 million. The transaction was completed Feb. 1 following approval of Bancorp shareholders and federal regulators. Rabobank will maintain Community Bank’s 14 branches – in San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties – and current employees will retain their jobs, according to Harry Wardwell, senior vice president of Community Bank. As of December, the Hollister branch had about 3,000 accounts.
“Rabobank brings a lot more products, services and technology,” said Wardwell, who works out of Salinas.
Under Rabobank’s ownership, Wardwell said Community Bank will be able to expand its online banking options with new technologies such as imaging, which allows customers to view images of checks after they have been processed.
He also said that Community Bank would now be able to make larger loans and offer better interest rates for loans and deposits.
Existing branches will continue to operate under the Community Bank name for several months, before they are renamed Rabobank, according to a statement.
“We are delighted to welcome Community Bank customers and employees to Rabobank,” Cor Broekhuyse, regional head of Rabobank in the Americas, said in a written statement.
Rabobank’s purchase of Community Bank will give the firm 39 branches throughout the state, stretching from Southern California to Sacramento. Rabobank is among the 25 largest banking firms in the world, according to a Rabobank statement. Rabobank is the only privately-owned bank in the world with the highest possible credit ratings from both Standard & Poors and Moody’s Investor Service and is ranked the world’s third safest bank by Global Finance magazine, according to the statement.
