Targets
The focus of Rabobank's membership policy is on
strengthening member engagement at the local
Rabobanks and ensuring members' control and
influence. Rabobank intends to keep the coopera
tive idea alive, i.e. being in the midst of the local
community and being 'near-you and committed.
To that end, an increasing number of local
Rabobanks are establishing member councils. At
the end of 2005, fifty banks had a member council
and in 2006, this number should be between 80
and 100. Thanks to the member councils,
members' control and influence will be anchored
more firmly than ever in Rabobank. Targets for
the coming years include further expansion and
intensification of the personal bond between the
bank and its members and further optimisation
of members' control. In addition, there will be
stronger focus on the cooperative dividend, i.e.
support of community initiatives in the society in
which a local Rabobank operates.
Member participation
More control: the member councils
21 Rabobank Group Annual Report 2005
Membership policy
Initially, membership policy focused on recruitment of more and more
committed members. Membership has grown considerably since 2000:
from 550,000 to more than 1.5 million in 2005. In 2004, the membership
policy focus was shifted to achieving greater real members' control.
After all, members are clients who promote and monitor Rabobank's
achieving its ambition to be a bank of and for clients and the community.
Defining members' control and influence further is one of the member
ship policy's main targets.
Staff, management and directors will be emphatically required to
demonstrate their cooperative disposition. One of the core duties of
the boards and the management of the local Rabobanks is to embed
the cooperative principles in the day-to-day operations of the bank's
staff and management. Corporate social responsibility is another
important aspect in this context.
In order to participate in the activities of their local Rabobank, members
can be elected board members, members of the member council or
members of the Supervisory Board. In addition, they can participate in
member panels and sounding-board groups on banking and social
issues such as distribution policy, support of community projects, the
development of banking services, customer segmentation or the further
profiling of membership. On a local level, the cooperative message will
increasingly be communicated directly to members and clients via local
Internet sites and informative regional newsletters. The aim is to get
more people actively engaged in the local Rabobanks and their com
munity activities.
The upscaling at the local Rabobanks through mutual mergers is aimed
primarily at a more professional approach of the top end of the market.
This upscaling also involves risks. The move to a smaller number of larger
local Rabobanks could cause pressure on the traditional direct bond
with the local community. For that reason, a growing number of
merged local Rabobanks have put a lot of effort into the introduction of
member councils. A member council is an elected cross-section of the
member and client base and could, in the case of a large bank, consist
of over fifty members from many layers and professions in the local
community. The member council has assumed the majority of the
powers of the general meeting of members and meets more often
during the year. The member councils' powers include the appointment
of Supervisory Board members and the finalisation of the financial state-
Further enhance member engagement
Optimise member influence
Support social initiatives in the community where
a local Rabobank operates
