Control aspects
Corporate governance
In recent years, the corporate governance of organisations has been in the centre
of public interest. Rabobank Group, too, has continued to pay a great deal of
attention to its corporate governance. To many, the governance of one of the oldest
cooperatives in the Netherlands is not as well known as that of a listed enterprise.
However, Rabobank Group uses a unique system of checks and balances at all its
levels that make up corporate governance that, in many respects, is even stricter
than in listed enterprises. For example, a unique element is our Central Delegates
Assembly, Rabobank Nederland's parliament, which meets four times a year and
where the influence of the members, i.e. the local Rabobanks, is made to be heard
in virtually all strategic decisions. Given its firm roots in Dutch society and its
prominence in the international capital markets, Rabobank Nederland's corporate
governance is broadly consistent with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code, the
so-called Tabaksblat code. Rabobank Nederland endorses the principles of this code,
even though the Bank falls outside the code's scope, since it is based on cooperative
principles and not listed at the stock exchange. Rabobank Nederland has taken note
of the Tabaksblat code as amended by the Corporate Governance Code Monitoring
Committee. In 2009, it will review the consequences of these amendments for
Rabobank Nederland.
Cross-guarantee system within Rabobank Group
www.rabobank.com/corporategovernance
Rabobank Group consists of the local Rabobanks, their central organisation Rabobank Nederland and its
subsidiaries and other affiliated entities. Through their mutual financial association, various legal entities
within Rabobank Group together make up a single organisation. An internal liability relationship exists
between these legal entities, as referred to in Section 3:111 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wft).
This relationship is formalised in an intemal'cross-guarantee' system, which stipulates that if a participating
institution has insufficient funds to meet its obligations towards its creditors, the other participants must
supplement that institution's funds in order to enable it to fulfil those obligations.
Executive Board
The Executive Board of Rabobank Nederland is responsible for the management of Rabobank Nederland
and its affiliated entities. This includes responsibility for the achievement of the objectives of Rabobank
Group as a whole, its strategic policy, its results, the synergy within Rabobank Group, compliance with all
relevant laws and regulations, the management of business risks and the financing of Rabobank Group.
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Rabobank Group Annual Report 2008
