the developments within the three aforesaid focus areas for all local Rabobanks together and
for local Rabobanks requiring heightened supervision and guidance by Rabobank Nederland
on one or more of these areas. After they have been discussed with the Supervisory Board, the
progress reports are made available to DNB and the AFM.
Legislation and regulations
During the past year, the Supervisory Board continually received information on the potential
impact of new national and international legislation and regulations, guidelines and codes.
The Supervisory Board regrets the fact that these substantial regulatory pressures and the
sometimes complex and protracted implementation processes arising from them require so
much time and attention from the organisation that in practice this sometimes detracts from
the time and attention for customers and markets. In 2012, Rabobank adopted a uniform
implementation approach for regulations and established an implementation approval
committee. If the committee designates an issue as critical, the uniform implementation
approach will be activated to promote consistent and timely implementation at the local
Rabobanks. The Supervisory Board frequently consulted with the Executive Board on the
implementation of legislation and regulations in fields including customer integrity, the duty
of care, Treating Customers Fairly, commission, advertising and anticorruption.
Libor
Although numerous important subjects were to the fore in the past year within Rabobank, 2013
will be mainly remembered by many, both in and outside Rabobank, as the year of the Libor
case.The Supervisory Board, and particularly its Special Libor Committee, was closely involved
in this issue in the lead-up to the settlement. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, Mr Koopmans,
Mr Dekker and Mr Minderhoud served on the Special Libor Committee. Following the departure
of Mr Koopmans as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Mr Graafsma became a member of this
committee on 20 June 2013. The other members of the committee were Mr Moerland, Mr Schat
and Mr Bruggink for the Executive Board. They were supported by internal and external experts.
The Supervisory Board also engaged an external Legal Counsel its own for this purpose.
The Special Libor Committee met nine times in 2013 in the lead-up to the settlement. Topics
discussed in detail included the findings arising from the investigation and their interpretation,
the action plan, including the recovery measures to be taken, the ongoing contact with external
regulators and other parties involved, liability aspects and the communication strategy.The full
Supervisory Board was continually informed of developments on this issue via the reports of
the Special Libor Committee, oral information provided in meetings and the discussion of
various documents.
The Supervisory Board regrets the facts that gave rise to the Libor settlement and the far-reaching
consequences they involved, not just in financial terms but especially in terms of the bank's
reputation. The Libor case seriously harmed the trust placed in Rabobank. Against that
background, Mr Moerland deemed it appropriate to step down as Chairman of the Executive
Board upon the announcement of the settlement on 29 October 2013. The Supervisory Board
has the utmost respect for his decision. Mr Minderhoud succeeded Mr Moerland as acting
Chairman of the Executive Board until a definite replacement for Mr Moerland has been found.
The Libor case understandably elicited a wide range of emotions among customers, employees
and the general public. The settlement also harmed the trust placed by local Rabobanks and
their members in Rabobank and those bearing executive responsibility in Utrecht. The Executive
Board and the Supervisory Board received numerous responses from members, customers, local
Rabobanks, employees and other involved parties in which they emphatically expressed their
emotions and opinions. The sparse communication was a significant factor. The Executive Board
and the Supervisory Board repeatedly considered this subject in the period leading up to the
Report of the Supervisory Board of Rabobank Nederland
