Membership policy
The focus of the membership policy is on
strengthening member engagement at the local
Rabobanks and embedding member control
and influence. The 2004 General Meeting of
Rabobank Nederland supported the intention of
all Rabobanks to work on more effective member
control and influence.
Significant membership increase
23 Rabobank Group Annual Report 2004
Membership policy
Each and every local Rabobank is a cooperative of members and with
members. Cooperation has been in their blood from the beginning.
That is why members involve themselves with the local Rabobanks in
many ways. If elected, they can be a board member, a member of the
member council or a member of supervisory board. They participate in
discussion groups on banking and social issues, in knowledge-focused
seminars or attend meetings at which the bank's policy can be influ
enced. Discussion topics can include distribution policy, support of
community projects, the development of banking services, customer
segmentation or the further definition of membership.
Higher appreciation of membership
In 2004, many local Rabobanks continued their efforts to form ties both
with and between members on the basis of target groups or common
interests. For example, they facilitated young people's councils, business
clubs for young entrepreneurs and platforms for the elderly. In addition,
many local banks organised discussion meetings with members on
socio-economic developments in the region and their consequences
for services, and on the spread of offices in connection with the many
mergers of local banks.
A member satisfaction survey held in 2004 showed that, through the
years, membership has gained in both significance and content. In 1999,
members rated membership at 6.8; in 2004 this figure rose to 7.2.
Rabobank's membership showed another significant increase in 2004:
from 1.36 million at 31 December 2003 to 1.46 million at the end of
2004. Members are important to the bank. Their suggestions help the
bank to improve its services, they are more loyal and therefore purchase
more products and services than 'normal' clients. In 2004, private mem
bers purchased an average of 3.63 services, while for 'non-members'
this figure was 2.31. Member businesses likewise had a higher average
services offtake than non-member business clients: 3.98 against 1.97.
'Cooperative dividend'
The local Rabobanks owe their existence to the local communities in
which they were founded by entrepreneurs. These origins underlie their
wish to give something in return to the communities in which they
operate. They have been doing so ever since the first local banks were
established over a century ago, as is evidenced by the countless local
socio-cultural initiatives that local banks have sponsored over the years
with contributions out of their net profits. In the context of stimulating
member engagement, this 'cooperative dividend' is increasingly spent
on local communities, projects, research and other initiatives for the aid
and/or (economic) development of member/client groups. The 'coope
rative dividend' can be seen as the communal benefit that a coopera
tive offers to society. The benefit for individual members is the opportu
nity they get to exert maximum influence and control within their local
bank over the allocation of these collective benefits.
An additional aspect, and one that has been the subject of extensive
research in recent years, is whether individual material benefits should be
offered to the members of the local banks via a member benefit system.
The impact of a possible introduction of such a system would be great,
in both organisational and financial terms. It has been decided to discuss
and exchange ideas with the local Rabobanks about the commercial
possibilities this would offer to enhance client and member loyalty. It is
expected that final conclusions will be drawn in the course of 2005.
Ratios make involvement visible
Not all Rabobanks are fully engaged in embedding member control and
influence, although there is general agreement that all banks are expec
ted to make serious and ongoing efforts towards effective member
control and influence. Consultations with members will focus on issues
that are of direct interest to them, such as the nature and quality of the
services, the definition of local membership policy and the bank's social
engagement. The banks will also use ratios to establish the degree of
member engagement and participation and will set the target values
for these ratios themselves. The ratios are an instrument for making the
growing involvement among members more visible.
