request, Nibud and Agentschap NL (SenterNovem), a Dutch government agency for the
promotion of sustainability and innovation, have fine-tuned the tables by factoring in housing
energy labels.This could be relevant to consumers who are interested in buying highly energy-
efficient newbuilds (with energy labels A+ and A++) and to consumers who want to renovate
existing houses.
Rabocard with carbon offset phased out
Rabobank has stopped offering the Rabocard with carbon offset. The card, which was supported
by the World Wildlife Fund, did not meet the bank's expectations. Research showed that the
card barely increased our customers' C02 awareness. In addition, the costs of the carbon
offset proved much higher than anticipated because of the purchase of emission rights (Gold
Standard credits). For this reason, it was impossible to fully offset the C02 emissions that were
associated with purchases made using the card. What is more, the urgency of the climate
problem has prompted Rabobank to shift its focus from offsetting C02 emissions to reducing
C02 emissions. Options to continue the partnership with the World Wildlife Fund are currently
being explored.
Developments in mortgage products
The RaboOpbouwHypotheek (build-up mortgage) has offered a tax-efficient savings facility
for mortgage repayments since 2008. Thanks to its transparency and low fee structure, this
became Rabobank's best sold mortgage product in 2009.The Rabo KlimaatHypotheek
(climate mortgage) and the Rabo SpringPlank Hypotheek (springboard mortgage) were
phased out due to a lack of products sold and a cut-back in complexity.
Following a recommendation by the Ombudsman for Financial Services, Obvion has
compensated qualifying customers with a variable-interest mortgage with retroactive effect.
Interest on the mortgages in question is based on the one-month Euribor, plus a margin for
costs and a risk premium. As a result of the credit crisis, the liquidity premium has seen
considerable increases since 2008. Some of these increases have been recharged to consumers
via the interest rates on their variable-rate mortgages with effect from 1 November 2008.
A number of clients objected to this variable margin since it was referred to as a fixed surcharge
in the mortgage proposal.The Ombudsman for Financial Services issued a recommendation
with regard to these complaints in August 2009, in which he ruled in favour of some of our
clients. Obvion has followed up this recommendation.
Where the OpMaatHypotheek-C that Rabobank sold in the past was concerned, the
Ombudsman for Financial Services ruled in the reporting period, based on a number of
complaints, that Rabobank had not been clear enough on possible reductions in the savings
portion. He issued a recommendation to Rabobank in this regard. Rabobank also reached
agreement in the year under review with Stichting Woekerpolis Claim, a special-interest
organisation fighting profiteering policies. As a result, the recommendation by the Ombudsman
will apply to about all 200,000 customers who purchased an OpMaatHypotheek-C.
Rabobank also introduced a facility for 'distressed cases'. It will approach every customer with an
OpMaatHypotheek-C; those who qualify for compensation will receive their payment in 2010.
Obvion helps improve quality of home appraisals and intermediaries
Obvion participated in a pilot of the Dutch Home Value Institute (NWWI) in 2009. The NWWI
was officially launched after the pilot proved successful. Obvion now only accepts appraisal
reports bearing the NWWI quality mark as a measure of quality, objectivity, expertise and
reliability of home and appraisers and their reports. Obvion further tightened its requirements
for mortgage brokers based on a duty of care profile. It also introduced the Budget Planner,
a service for customers with (potential) financial problems. The Institute for International
Research (IRR) nominated the Budget Planner as Mortgage Product of the Year.
Services to business start-ups: microcredit
Small business start-ups experiencing difficulties in securing a loan due to a lack of collateral
or proven results have been able to apply to Qredits since February 2009 for a loan of up to
EUR 35,000. This fund operated by Microfinance Netherlands is an initiative of the Dutch
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Rabobank, ABN AMRO, Fortis Bank Nederland, ING and Aedes.
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Domestic retail banking
