About the
Rabobank Group
Chairman's foreword
Sustainability is a core element for Rabobank Group
Although strong financial ratios are a condicio sine qua non for cooperatives as
well, such ratios have never been truly inspirational. What does inspire people is
the meaning of what they do and what they are trying to achieve together. What is
it, then, that we at Rabobank are trying to create? We want to realise added value
for our clients, hence our ambition to obtain a leading position in our home
market. Obviously, a sound financial basis is important in that context, but the
overriding principle is for us to act in a sustainable manner and to serve interests
that will hold for the long term. We do this for our clients, our employees and our
planet. This is an important element in our vision.
Stronger market leadership position in the Netherlands
For Rabobank Group, 2007 was a good year, although a tumultuous one. Never in my 38-year
career have I seen so many issues in a single year as in 2007. Obviously, the most prominent
issue for our sector was the credit market crisis, which upsets the entire financial world.
Nevertheless, we succeeded in meeting our own financial targets in 2007 as well, with net
profit increasing by 14% to EUR 2.7 billion, compared with EUR 2.3 billion in 2006. Virtually all
Group units contributed to this increased result, which reflects not only the benefit of the
proper spread of our activities, but also the strength of our modest risk profile. We do, after
all, have a Triple A rating. In 2007, great progress was made with the realisation of a number
of strategic goals. We succeeded in strengthening our positions in some Dutch markets that
are of special importance to Rabobank Group, one being the mortgages market. In order to
serve today's and tomorrow's customers, we made significant investments in new distribution
channels. We also greatly expanded our international retail banking business. In addition, our
subsidiaries were able to strengthen their activities and market positions in 2007 in accordance
with our strategic principles. Sustainability is core to our operations. In this respect, Rabobank
Group made great strides in 2007 and we strengthened our image as the pre-eminent
sustainable bank globally.
One of the chief principles in our Strategic Framework for the Netherlands is market
leadership in all-finance services. In the Dutch mortgages market, where competition
remains fierce, the local Rabobanks and Obvion succeeded in growing their market share by
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Rabobank Group Annual Report 2007
