Cooperative
and
sustainability
Mission, ambition and core values
Based on its identity, Rabobank sees cooperative banking
and sustainability as being intertwined. Rabobank
considers it its mission, for instance, to contribute to the
sustainable development of prosperity and well-being by
helping customers, communities and society at large to
achieve their financial and other ambitions. As part of
this mission, Rabobank Group wants to be one of the best
and most customer-oriented and innovative financial
institutions in the Netherlands.
Cooperative banking
In an international context, Rabobank Group aspires to be one off the best food and agri
bank, with a strong presence in the world's major food and agriculture countries. In addition,
Rabobank Group aims to reach global excellence in sustainable business and banking
practices, as befits its identity and position in society.
In achieving its ambitions, Rabobank Group imposes high standards on itself, which have
been summed up in the four core values of Rabobank Group's Ambition Statement:
- integrity: in its dealings, the bank wants to be fair, honest, conscientious and trustworthy;
- respect: the bank's basis for collaboration is respect, appreciation and commitment;
- professionalism: the bank serves its customers by offering high-level knowledge and
facilities;
- sustainability: the bank wants to help build a sustainable society by making contributions
in economic, social and ecological areas.
Rabobank's cooperative structure and local ties have set it apart for over 110 years. The 136
local Rabobanks, their more than 7.4 million customers and their 1.9 million members form
the heart of the cooperative. The structure of Rabobank Group is typified by strong mutual
relationships originating in its cooperative roots, even though the subsidiaries and associates
are not structured as cooperatives themselves.
The changes in the banking sector in general and the scale of the local cooperative branches
in particular have prompted an update of the local governance structure over the past few
years. All local Rabobanks transitioned to the new governance model at year-end 2012.
This model combines optimal integration of member involvement and member influence
with professionalised bank management, with the member council forming the pivot of the
bank's external orientation. Now that the new model has been implemented, all 136 local
Rabobanks have a member council; there are some 5,000 highly committed member
councillors in total who meet with the local Rabobanks three times a year on average to
discuss cooperative banking in all its aspects.
15 Cooperative and sustainability