Landmark writedown for AWB
Having ditched Rabobank as their funding partner four years, AWB is on the verge of agreeing terms with another bank to help fund its $2.3 billion loan book.Which bank is not clear, but some more of AWB's strategy to reposition the Landmark business was made clear in a wider presentation to the market on the AWB strategy.AWB said it would write off $120 million in goodwill on Landmark. There is no suggestion of writing off any of its agribusiness loans, nor of seeking a buyer for Landmark, which AWB bought in 2001 from Wesfarmers. ANZ owned Landmark for many years before then.The Landmark receivables book dipped from $2.6 billion at March 2009, though this fluctuates in line with seasonal conditions as well as the shifting competitive position of the financing business.Its market share of agribusiness finance peaked at around 4.6 per cent on RBA data and is around 4.4 per cent today.Meanwhile on Rabobank, the Dutch-based bank said it selected Thos Gieskes as chief executive to replace Bruce Dick as CEO in Australia and New Zealand.Gieskes has been chief of Rabobank's operations in Chile since 2002.Dick is leaving to run National Micro Finance Bank in Tanzania, an entity partly owned by Rabobank.