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