Niels Jacobs will oversee a New York-based team specializing in supporting commodity-trading clients
NEW YORK, July 27, 2023 – Rabobank, a leading global food and agribusiness bank with an award-winning commodity finance business, has appointed Niels Jacobs as the new head of its Trade & Commodity Finance (TCF) Agribusiness team in North America.
Jacobs joined Rabobank in 2010 and has been a senior banker on the TCF Agri Europe team since 2015. During his tenure, he has been instrumental in generating new business with the bank’s larger clients in both the Agri and Energy sector. This included structuring financial and sustainability solutions utilizing the full product suite of the bank and helping clients achieve their growth goals.
Jacobs has relocated to New York to assume this leadership role where he will lead a growing TCF Agri North America team that features veteran relationship managers and new additions. He reports to Christine Pelletier, head of TCF Americas, who maintained oversight of the North American Agri team while leading the region’s overall TCF business. The move to appoint Jacobs to the Agri role brings renewed focus to this critical food and agribusiness region of the world.
New York is also home to Christine Dirringer, global head of trade and commodity finance at Rabobank, who assumed the role in 2022. “Creating a separate TCF Agri head in this region adds a renewed depth and focus to the team that will support our continued growth in the sector,” said Dirringer. “The fact that we’re promoting from within and from another geography showcases Rabobank’s deep bench of talent, knowledge and experience along with TCF’s global connectivity.”
Jacobs is part of the TCF North America leadership team led by Pelletier, and joins the TCF Agri global leadership team led by Michiel Teunissen.
Rabobank, which has been named the World’s Best Bank in Commodity Finance by Global Finance magazine three times, has TCF teams in seven offices around the globe. North American Agri clients include grains and oilseeds and tropical commodity merchants—coffee, cotton, sugar and rice—that serve domestic and international markets.
“We have an incredible client base in North America, and with this new and expanded team under Niels, TCF Agri North America is well-equipped to drive our clients’ businesses and, in tandem, our own franchise,” said Christine Pelletier, head of TCF Americas.
“Niels is a proven leader known for his creativity and ability to drive business,” added TCF Agri global head Michiel Teunissen. “I’m thrilled that he is taking this next step in such an important market for Rabobank. With our knowledge and expertise, we see tremendous opportunities to help our clients navigate domestic and global markets and manage sustainability needs across today’s changing food system.”
“Our TCF team is a true leader in driving solutions for our clients in the commodities trading space, from our structured financing expertise through to our specialized skills in capital markets, risk management and advisory services, said David Bassett, Head of Wholesale Banking North America. “We are committed to the trade and commodity finance sector and Niels will make us even stronger in this area.”
“After several years of supporting our European clients, I am very excited about this new role. The North America team has a clear mandate to grow the business and I am really looking forward to driving this growth plan,” said Jacobs. “The Agri team is considered a true thought leader for our clients, as evidenced by the leading roles and strategic mandates the team has been awarded. I am grateful to be a part of this and to build on our success”.
Rabobank offers market-leading expertise in agribusiness, energy and metals commodities trading and financing. The TCF team provides a wide range of products related to the trading of physical commodities, including short- to medium-term credit facilities, self-liquidating transactional facilities, borrowing base facilities and trade finance, in addition to capital markets solutions, risk management and strategic advisory.
About Rabobank
Rabobank Group is a global financial services leader providing wholesale and retail banking, leasing, and real estate services in more than 37 countries worldwide. Founded over a century ago, Rabobank today is one of the world’s largest banks with over $678 billion in assets.
In the Americas, Rabobank Wholesale Banking North America is a premier corporate and investment bank to the food, agribusiness, commodities and energy industries. Rabo AgriFinance, a subsidiary of Rabobank, is a leading financial services provider for farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses in the United States. Together, we provide sector expertise, strategic counsel and tailored financial solutions to clients across the entire value chain. Visit www.RabobankWholesaleBankingNA.com and www.RaboAg.com.
