Agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank has appointed Felicity Taylor as area manager for Moree.
Announcing the appointment, Rabobank regional manager for Southern Queensland & Northern New South Wales, Brad James said Ms Taylor – a North West Plains local who has been a member of the bank's Moree operations for the past 3 years – brought extensive farming and finance experience to the role.
"Felicity has quickly moved through the ranks, driven by her strong knowledge of agriculture, paired with her commitment to assisting her clients to capitalise on opportunities and to achieve their goals," he said.
"Felicity is also no stranger to the local area, growing up on her family's broadacre cropping property north of Moree. It was here that Felicity developed her passion for agriculture, so after completing her Bachelor of Agricultural Economics with Honours from the University of Sydney, Felicity's aspirations were to always return to the rural sector and to her local community of Moree."
Ms Taylor began her career with Rabobank in Sydney five years ago via the bank's graduate program, which also saw her working in Toowoomba and Utrecht in the Netherlands before returning to Moree in 2018.
Ms Taylor said it was Rabobank's global cooperative structure and local focus that initially drew her to the company.
"To work for an organisation that specialises in agriculture means not only do our clients have access to expert research and analysis tailored to their sector, but it also means the bank can take a long-term view as it intimately understands agricultural cycles," she said.
"I find our farmers also benefit from Rabobank's international ties and its ability to take learnings from global markets and leverage that information locally with clients."
Ms Taylor said the progressive nature of local producers in the North West Plains region stood them in good stead for 2022.
"The farmers in this area are always looking to improve their operations both on and off-farm and it's this drive to improve that makes it a great region to work in," she said.
"Farmers are finishing this year with an optimistic view, though the impacts of the rain-affected harvest are still to be felt. The recently-released quarterly Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey indicates Australian farmers are predicting the "magic combination" of high commodity prices, low interest rates and good seasonal conditions will continue in the year ahead – supporting a continued high level of confidence."
Mr James said the Rabobank team in Moree is strong and well established. "This level of support and rock solid base will see Felicity smoothly transition into the role of area manager," he said
"Felicity's appointment complements our already outstanding Moree team – with senior rural managers, Marco Cicchelli, Robert De Gruchy and James Maunder, along with relationship analysts George McCalman, Emm Bambling and Lucy Moore, who has recently accepted a promotion and will be moving to Victoria with Rabobank soon."
Mr James said the bank was also looking to fill the vacancy left by Felicity's promotion as soon as possible.
To contact Felicity Taylor directly, please call 0448 776 957. For Rabobank Moree contact 02 6752 9600.
Denise Shaw Will Banks
