Report of the Supervisory Board
of Rabobank Nederland
www.rabobank.com/management
Rabobank managed to shore up its already robust financial position in 2011,
despite the global economic decline. We had Rabobank's unique governance
structure, with its cooperative checks and balances system, to thank for this.
The debt crisis, which worsened in the second half of 2011, affected the financial
performance of Rabobank Group. Competition on the savings market increased
and bad debt costs at the local Rabobanks were up. Robeco, Rabo Real Estate
Group and Achmea also saw a drop in their profitability. Although profit was
lower than forecasted at the start of the year, the Supervisory Board is satisfied
with the financial results given the current state of the market.
Proposal to the General Meeting
In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Articles of Association of Rabobank Nederland,
the Supervisory Board has reviewed the annual report and the financial statements for 2011 of
Rabobank Nederland and of Rabobank Group, and any annexed information. The Supervisory
Board discussed these documents with the Executive Board, the internal auditors and Ernst
Young Accountants LLP, the independent external auditors, and took note of the unqualified
auditor's report that Ernst Young Accountants LLP issued on the financial statements 2011
The Supervisory Board proposes that the General Meeting of Rabobank Nederland adopts the
financial statements 2011.
Corporate governance
The three pillars of governance at Rabobank Nederland are decisive management, effective
member influence, and strong and independent supervision. The section on corporate
governance in this Annual Report describes the corporate governance structure at Rabobank
Nederland and the bank's compliance with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code. An
extensive account of how the provisions of the Dutch Banking Code have been and are being
applied is given in the section on the Dutch Banking Code, which explains that Rabobank
complies with these provisions for good governance in the financial sector. The Supervisory
Board agrees with what has been described in these two sections.
Supervisory Board of Rabobank Nederland
The members of the Supervisory Board have been listed in the'Management'section above.
The profile for the Supervisory Board has been posted on the corporate website. The section
on corporate governance describes the duties and responsibilities of the Supervisory Board
and its role in Rabobank Nederland's governance structure.
In performing its duties, the Supervisory Board focuses on the interests of Rabobank Nederland
and its affiliated entities, also taking account of the interests of stakeholders and CSR endores
that are relevant to Rabobank.
The practices and rules of procedures for the Supervisory Board, the Audit, Compliance Risk
Committee and the Remuneration Committee were tightened in 2011 under the influence of
the Regulations on Restrained Remuneration, among other provisions.The continuing education
programme for the Supervisory Board, which was initiated in 2010, was continued in 2011.
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Annual Report 2011 Rabobank Group
