4th Generation Family Farmer Named Head of Food & Agribusiness
4thGeneration Family Farmer Named Head of Food & Agribusiness
Wells Fargo taps 28-year company veteran Rob Yraceburu to grow lending nationwide
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wells Fargo (NYS: WFC) , which has extended more credit to U.S. food and agribusiness than any bank, has named Rob C. Yraceburu to a new position as head of its National Food & Agribusiness Division. He will lead the group's expansion to untapped markets in the Midwest and East. A fourth-generation family farmer who holds both a bachelor's in agricultural business and a master's in agricultural economics from California State University, Fresno, he has worked in finance for his entire 28-year career.
Rob C. Yraceburu (Photo: Business Wire)
Yraceburu takes on the new role after leading Wells Fargo Commercial Banking operations in Southern California since 2008. Before that, he served from 1999 as regional manager in Bakersfield, Calif., where he doubled Wells Fargo lending to agriculture in less than a decade. In that same period, he also increased the bank's market share to become the leading financer of agribusiness in surrounding Kern County, one of the most-productive agricultural counties in the U.S. In all, Yraceburu worked over 25 years in several finance positions for the company in California's Central Valley, a huge agriculture region where over 400 crops are produced.
"Wells Fargo has been committed to the U.S. food and agriculture industry through numerous economic cycles," said Perry Pelos, the head of Wells Fargo Commercial Banking. "Rob and his team will leverage Wells Fargo's national reach and financial strength to grow our support of an industry that is vital for every single person in America."
While California is home to nine of the USA's top-producing agriculture counties, the state accounts for just 15 percent of the nation's total "farm gate" - that is, the value of products when they leave farm. That equates to a big opportunity for Wells Fargo to grow its food and agriculture business in the Midwest and particularly in the East, according to Yraceburu. "It won't be an overnight success - but like farming, we'll plant a crop beginning this spring and look forward to fruitful harvests in the years to come," he said.
Yraceburu's family farming roots run more than a century deep. His great-grandfather emigrated from Spain at the start of the 20th century and began dry-land farming 160 acres of grain on the West Side of California's Central Valley. Yraceburu's grandfather purchased a Central Valley grape and raisin operation in the late 1950s. Today, his 71-year-old father farms grapes, raisins, and almonds. Yraceburu and his wife Gayle, who also grew up on Central Valley farms, purchased their first operation in 1987. Like her husband, Gayle earned her bachelor's degree in agriculture from California State University, Fresno.
About Wells Fargo's National Division of Food & Agriculture
With regional and industry experts throughout the U.S., Wells Fargo provides resources to help meet the needs of agribusiness in various sectors, including dairy farmers, food processors, nurseries, and vegetable, fruit, and nut growers. The company also provides financial resources to help businesses grow while also managing risk. Understanding the impact of regional, national, and global economic conditions, Wells Fargo offers specialized financing for all areas of agribusiness, including input supply, production, processing, wholesale distribution and retailing.
Wells Fargo supports agriculture in other ways as well. For instance, Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS), a wholly owned subsidiary, is the nation's largest crop insurance provider, offering risk management protection for more than 100 crops in all 50 states through a national network of more than 5,000 professionally trained and licensed independent agents. It provides multi-peril crop insurance and livestock policies offered through the United States Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency (RMA), as well as crop hail, flood, named peril, as supplemental and stand-alone insurance products.
About Wells Fargo Commercial Banking
Wells Fargo's Commercial Bank serves middle market businesses with annual sales above $20 million. Nationwide, Wells Fargo is the No. 1 commercial bank in the markets it serves. In addition to providing a world-class customer experience for our clients, Wells Fargo Commercial Bankers are also committed to being good citizens, from charitable giving to volunteering to public service.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYS: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank's customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune's 2012 rankings of America's largest corporations. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy all our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130418006251/en/
Wells Fargo & Company
Gabriel Boehmer, 503-886-4186
gabriel.h.boehmer@wellsfargo.com
@GabrieBoehmer
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