Good products
Appropriate advice
Service excellence
Balanced advisory model
AFM Dashboard
Rabobank has had a product approval committee since 2004. This committee checks the
quality of products and their benefits for clients, and assesses whether the information
received by clients is easy-to-understand and complete. It also monitors whether products
and services reflect the needs of clients. Since 2006, all products and services, including
changes to existing products and services, have had to be submitted to the committee.
Whenever Rabobank reviews a product in this way, the product information is always
reworded in simple Dutch. In 2012, work continued on reviewing the product range for
existing and new products. The complete product range of Rabobank, except for a few
products for which the review has been delayed due to upcoming changes or termination,
was reviewed based on the current requirements and the interests of the customer.
Rabobank developed a new mortgage advice procedure in 2012 to provide clients with
greater clarity and make its focus on customer interests even more explicit. Rabobank is
aiming for a more integrated assessment of the needs of clients in both the short and long
term, rather than taking a product-driven approach.
Rabobank makes great efforts to ensure its service level is in keeping with the wishes
and needs of clients. Customer opinion in this area provides input for improving services.
More and more consumers are using new media and virtual contacts. In 2012, Rabobank
took further steps to provide clients with cross-channel services, irrespective of when the
client wants to access services or which channel the client chooses (telephone, internet,
mobile device, or a meeting with an adviser).
In 2012, work continued on the implementation of a new integrated complaint management
policy in 2012. The policy will be fully implemented in 2013.
With regard to charges and fees for services to clients, Rabobank aims to charge amounts
that are appropriate for the service provided. Customer focus and teamwork have been
required competencies in Rabobank's performance appraisal and remuneration system for
many years. Employees who have direct or indirect contact with clients have an explicit
customer focus target, which ensures good customer care and discourages irresponsible
risk-taking. The extent to which an employee focuses on customer interests determines
whether they receive a good appraisal.
A new business model for investment services was developed in 2012 and will be implemented
in 2013. This model will result in a simpler pricing structure for customers, providing them with
better insight into the costs of the services in which they are interested.
2012 also saw the development of a new retail services advice framework, in which advisory
services and products are separated. This framework will be implemented in 2013.
Furthermore, on 1 January 2013 Rabobank introduced a transparent fixed fee for advisory
services related to occupational disability insurance and pensions.
One of the key focus areas of the regulatory activities of the Netherlands Authority for the
Financial Markets (AFM) relates to a specific theme: Treating Customers Fairly (TCF). The TCF
Dashboard reflects the extent to which the AFM believes a business is succeeding at treating
its customer fairly. In reaching its opinion, the AFM looks at different products, procedures
and services. By awarding scores, the AFM aims to offer businesses an understanding of the
extent to which they actually treat customers fairly and focus on their interests. It also wants
to encourage businesses to make a conscious effort to give due weight to the concept of
treating customers fairly and apply it in practice. The AFM's TCF Dashboard covers the ten
largest banks and insurers in the Netherlands.
It is Rabobank's ambition to treat customers more than fairly. Rabobank believes that this
ambition should also be reflected in its dashboard scores. Rabobank recognises that this
dashboard and the AFM's feedback concerning specific elements form a useful frame of
reference and serve as a guide for future improvements, supplementing its own set of values
and customer surveys. The AFM TCF Dashboard is based on a scale of 1 to 5. The following
29 Treating Customers Fairly
