Sustainability initiatives Rabo Private Equity is Rabobank's investment division. Specialist labels, such as Rabo Capital, Rabo Ventures, Dutch Greentech Fund, RaPar and Phoenix Recovery Capital, are used to take equity stakes in businesses based on sector knowledge. Rabo Capital and Friesland Bank Investments were merged on 1 December 2012. The new combination has the ambition to strengthen its position by acquiring interests in sustainably growing Dutch companies. Despite the fact that the current economic climate offers only limited scope for selling equities, 2012 still saw the successful completion of a number of transactions. Network optimisation Rabobank International's network is continually being optimised. In this context, the remaining equity interest in Indian-based Yes Bank was sold in 2012. The gain on the sale of these shares amounted to EUR 80 million in 2012. It was also decided, at year-end 2012, to close Rabobank's branch office in Tokyo and to replace it by a representative office to provide support to key investors and clients that want to do business in Japan. In addition, the strategic options for Rabobank International Indonesia are being explored. Rabobank International is also looking at securing a banking licence in Turkey and plans are being prepared to open a wholesale branch in Africa in 2013 to improve our service provision to international food and agri customers on that continent. Sustainability is more and more becoming an integral part of Rabobank International's core business. While, in the past, focus was mostly on risk management issues, it has now increasingly shifted to supporting customers and supply chains in their transformation to more sustainable production methods. To demonstrate how sustainability in customer relations enhances sales opportunities, performance management targets were formulated aimed at communicating transactions involving sustainability. In 2012, 14 messages about sustainability transactions (not including renewable energy projects) were actively communicated within the organisation. Global Financial Markets (GFM) is in the process of gradually integrating sustainability into its core business. Sustainability information was included in the documentation for investors in several IPOs in the capital market. In addition, Equity Research published a sustainability special. Finally, an equity investor conference took place around the theme of sustainability. The partnership between Rabobank and Neumann, one of the world's largest coffee traders, is a good example of how sustainability and sales targets can be combined. Neumann is a customer of Rabobank International. Coffee is often produced by small farmers with limited access to the latest agricultural technology. As a result, their productivity is low, the quality of their products is poor and they themselves usually live in poverty. In 2012, the Flans R. Neumann Foundation, the Tanzanian National Microfinance Bank Foundation and the Rabobank Foundation launched a three-year project designed to improve the income position of 12,000 farmers in southern Tanzania. The project focuses mainly on improving production methods, strengthening farming cooperatives and professionalising marketing methods. The project is expected to result in a considerable increase in the productivity and income of the farmers in question. Another illustrative example of results achieved in collaboration with partners in the chain is the Better Cotton Fast Track Programme. This programme, which was established in 2010, is a partnership between different market players, the Sustainable Trade Initiative and Rabobank. The programme is meant to make cotton production more sustainable. In 2011 -2012, the programme ran 23 projects across the globe, training 117,000 farmers who produced over 200,000 tonnes of sustainable cotton. These farmers were able to save on purchasing, which helped to increase their income and improved their living conditions. The use of pesticides has now also been significantly reduced. For some years now, wholesale clients have been assessed for sustainability aspects, making allowance for the sector in which they operate and their local context. The outcome of this assessment is considered in every loan application. Sustainability is now an integral part of the lending process as a result. In 2012, there was again much emphasis on the sustainability rating of customers. The goal to have a complete and up-to-date rating for 95% of all wholesale clients of Rabobank International has been reached. The internal network of sustainability coordinators and specialists was strengthened further in 2012. Close cooperation between sustainability coordinators and sales is vital to the further integration of sustainability into the operations of Rabobank International. In 2012, staff from 46 Annual Report 2012 Rabobank Group

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

Annual Reports Rabobank | 2012 | | pagina 47