Membership policy Rabobank is different. It is the only large bank in the Netherlands that has members. More and more people are discovering the added value of membership. At year-end 2003, Rabobank had 1.36 million members, comfortably exceeding the target of 1.2 million.The focus of our membership policy has now shifted away from acquiring members to strengthening member engagement. Continued strong growth in membership Motives for membership Greater engagement Membership policy 27 Members are important to Rabobank.They give advice when asked or volunteer it and stimulate the Bank to even higher standards of custom er friendliness, entrepreneurship and innovation. In addition, members show greater customer loyalty and greater satisfaction with the Bank's services and use more products and services than other clients. Indeed, it is Rabobank's co-operative background, its local roots and its social engagement that have resulted in its development into a leading and robust party in the market. In 2003 Rabobank's membership again showed strong growth, with local Rabobanks registering over 200,000 new members. Since the start of the membership campaign early in 2001, more than 810,000 clients have subscribed as new Rabobank members. At 31 December 2003, the meter stood at more than 1.36 million members, considerably higher than the target of 1.2 million. Excellence in both products and services forms the basis for member- ship.Only if the Bank delivers real customer value are people interested in being more than just ordinary clients. Many clients therefore cite the quality of the services as their chief motive for becoming a Rabobank member. Approximately half of the members expect both material and financial benefits, such as discounts on banking and non-banking products and specific member products such as Rabobank Membership Certificates and Rabo RenteExtra,the new investment product for mem bers introduced in 2003. In addition, the majority of members attach great value to Rabobank's engagement in local society. According to a large group of members, they are members because they receive extra information and are invited for seminars and member meetings. More than half say that influence and control are important, although only a small percentage actually exercise them. Because the target of 1.2 million members has been achieved, the focus of membership policy has shifted away from the acquisition of new members.The aim now is to intensify the relationship with the existing members. Many Rabobanks were actively involved in this during 2003, for example by helping both new and experienced enterprises to The Tabaksblat Committee presents its first draft corporate government code. m o o r\i

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

Annual Reports Rabobank | 2003 | | pagina 31