Code of Conduct and integrity
In 2008 we assimilated the Rabobank Group Code of Conduct, which sets out the cohesion between,
and justification of, our CSR activities, into several HR instruments, such as performance management,
the standard job profile and the leadership profile. Rabo Real Estate Group integrated the existing codes
of conduct of the group entities into a single harmonised code in 2008. This new code, which describes
three integrity principles, will be cascaded through the organisation in 2009. These principles are:
preventing (the semblance of) conflicts of interest, avoiding (the semblance of any form of) fraud,
corruption and bribery, and being discreet and tactful when handling confidential information.
Growing employee commitment to CSR
Worldwide, Rabobank employees are committed to the communities in which they live and work.
Employees of our local Rabobanks spent approximately 75,000 hours volunteering, Rabobank
International employees 11,382 hours and employees of other group entities 4,872 hours. The number
of local Rabobanks that encourage their employees to volunteer increased by 14 percentage points in
2008, rising to 61 percent. In addition, 25 of our local Rabobanks offered the services of 1,700 employees
in total, who spent more than 10,000 hours volunteering in 2008 within the context of the nation-wide
Make a Difference Day (MADD), a volunteering initiative Rabobank has supported since 2005.
Economic participation and diversity
A bank for all people, Rabobank wants its financial services to be accessible for everyone. In developing
countries, Rabo Development and the Rabobank Foundation contribute to the development of the
banking sector and to establishing savings and loans cooperatives.
Rabo Development helps rural banks active in developing countries to transform themselves into
professional, modern financial institutions. It forms alliances with partner banks, taking a strategic
minority interest, and helps them develop along the lines of Rabobank in the Netherlands. As the focus
is on long-term development, short-term profitability is of minor importance. The partner banks differ
from other banks as their market is specifically rural areas. Partner banks remain independent and
benefit from Rabobank's capital, expertise, products, network and management abilities. To this end,
Rabo Development makes use of the knowledge and experience of staff from all parts of the organisation.
Experts in the areas of credit management, risk management, product development, distribution, ICT and
HR are frequently sent on assignments. In total more than 250 people were sent on assignments in 2008.
The strategic alliances enable a large section of the population to access financial services provided by
the partner banks, and at the same time reinforce Rabobank's global position in the food agri sector.
Currently there are six partner banks. In 2008, Rabo Development acquired minority interests in Banco
Regional in Paraguay and Banque Populaire du Rwanda. In earlier years, Rabobank Group had acquired
interests in the National Microfinance Bank, in Tanzania, Zambia National Commercial Bank, United Rural
Cooperative Bank of Hangzhou, in China, and Banco Terra, in Mozambique.
But access to financial services is not a given for everyone, not even in the Netherlands, for instance for
those who have physical disabilities or a lack of skills. Rabobank also wants to be there for these groups.
That is why we place particular focus on first-time home buyers, for instance, and on other vulnerable
groups on the housing market. Rabo Real Estate Group has developed facilities to make home
ownership possible and affordable for first-time buyers.
Rabobank also provides broader access to loans by offering a range of products based on state
guarantees and guarantees provided by Stichting Garantiefonds Rabobanken, our own guarantee fund.
Access to savings products and payment services for vulnerable client groups has been improved, for
instance by introducing the Random Reader Comfort, which allows the elderly, people with a visual
impairment and the motorically challenged to make use of our online banking services. In addition, 750
cash dispensers were equipped with a speech function for visually impaired and low-literacy users.
Besides this, people aged 60 and over were introduced via training sessions to Rabo Mobiel, the talking
e-purse and online banking. Through theThuisadministratieproject (home accounting project),
Rabobank assists people who are prevented by circumstances to keep their records in good order.
In 2008 local Rabobanks and Robeco co-organised courses to teach young people and school-going
children to become financially literate and not rack up too many debts. De Lage Landen and Obvion
published leaflets educating consumers about the various aspects of consumer loans and mortgages.
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Rabobank Group Annual Report 2008
