Community sponsorship
Community sponsorship
Rabobank's sponsorship focuses on activities that contribute to social themes.
Through sponsorship, Rabobank aims for instance to increase the participation of young
people in sports and culture. In 2013, Rabobank became Partner in Sport of the Netherlands
Olympic Committee Netherlands Sports Federation. Rabobank also supports equestrianism,
field hockey, amateur cycling and Marianne Vos's women's cycling team. A focus on young
people and talents is a core element of these initiatives. Disability sports as well as arts and
culture likewise continue to feature strongly in Rabobank's sponsorship portfolio. In 2013,
a total of EUR 53.1 (68.7) million was spent on social sponsoring.
in millions of euros
2013
2012
2011
2010
Rabobank Nederland, Communications Department
20.4
30.3
25.1
24.1
Rabobank International and other group entities
7.8
11.0
9.7
11.8
Local Rabobanks
24.9
27.4
27.0
24.1
Total community sponsorship
53.1
68.7
61.8
60.0
Ethical dilemmas
Rabobank Group employees who are faced with an ethical dilemma can refer the issue to the
Ethics Office. One of the main goals of the Ethics Office is to promote dialogue on such dilemmas.
The Ethics Committee, which is chaired by the Chairman of the Executive Board of Rabobank
Nederland, advises all Rabobank group entities on ethical questions. Issues discussed by the
Ethics Committee in 2013 included the following: ethical dilemmas in the development of new
ICT applications, the development of virtual currencies, the exploration and production of shale
gas, the bankers' oath and the development of disciplinary law. For specific examples of ethical
dilemmas that are discussed by the Committee, reference is made to the corporate website.
The Ethics Office provides services to various group entities with a view to promoting expertise
and culture development and is also closely involved in the programme for continuing
professional education for the supervisory boards of local Rabobanks.
Reputation
Reputation buffer of Rabobank narrowed
In the past few years, Rabobank had been reasonably successful in evading the financial sector's
weak reputation. Rabobank had a substantial reputation buffer, in which its advantage over the
closest large rival bank was often more than 10 percentage points.
The announcements on the Libor settlement have adversely impacted Rabobank's reputation in
the Netherlands.The various reputation indicators slipped to significantly lower levels.
25 Cooperative and governance
