The implementation of Vision 2016 will lead to a sharp fall in the workforce; a total of
approximately 8,000 jobs at the local Rabobanks will go in the period from 2013 to year-end
2016. A certain scale is necessary to be able to offer products and services at competitive prices
and low cost. A number of smaller local Rabobanks do not have this necessary scale. Around 100
of the current 129 local Rabobanks are expected to remain in 2016. Branches will also be closed.
Many smaller sub-branches only receive a few customers per day. Although customers hardly
use these branches, closure is frequently resisted because the disappearance of the branch is
perceived to be a contraction of the service. The possibilities for using virtual channels and for
instance placement of cashier functions in other retail outlets will mean that a good standard of
service can be maintained.The measures outlined above will substantially reduce costs and
structurally improve the result of the domestic retail banking division. This change process at
the local Rabobanks and Rabobank Nederland was put in motion in 2013, under the name of
Vision 2016.
Many Rabobank employees lost their jobs in the reporting year, or were notified that their
job would soon disappear. The internal complement at the domestic retail banking division
fell by 1,669 FTE in 2013, and a further decline in the workforce is expected in 2014 as well.
The departure of so many employees has a serious impact and requires great care. Many of the
redundant employees are using the regional mobility centres that are guiding them towards a
new position.
It is not only the local Rabobanks that are fully engaged in the transition to 'the local Rabobank
in 2016', Rabobank Nederland is also changing its structure in order to be able to continue to
offer optimal and efficient support to the local Rabobanks in future. The activities of Rabobank
Nederland and Rabobank International will thus be grouped into three commercial domains
focusing on (respectively) the retail business in the Netherlands including mid corporates, the
wholesale business in the Netherlands and the rural and retail business outside the Netherlands.
In addition, all operational and IT activities will be combined and incorporated into one domain.
The same applies to all the supporting activities in the field of control and risk management.
In this structure, Rabobank International will no longer be a separately managed division, it will
be an integral unit of Rabobank Nederland. As usual, the business practices at the local Rabobanks
will be leading in the new structure. Further elaboration of the new, integrated organisation
will take place in the first half of 2014 and the effects on the staff complement of Rabobank
Nederland will become clear. A broad-based culture and leadership programme will be
introduced in parallel with the new organisational structure.
Treating Customers Fairly
The services of the cooperative Rabobank are centred on the customer's interest. Rabobank
aims to provide suitable advice, good service and good products and be accessible, involved
and sustainable. Rabobank actively seeks to embed these principles in its services. A coherent
set of performance indicators has been developed to find out and measure whether customers
actually experience its services in this way. These indicators reflect customers' experience of the
advice provided and the handling of their day-to-day banking matters. The indicators reveal
where the bank's performance is and is not satisfactory and provide a platform for improvement
initiatives. The market departments of Rabobank Nederland report on this to the Executive
Board of Rabobank Nederland.
Broad range of services in the Netherlands
