Participation, advice and virtuaiisation
The future local Rabobank is based on three pillars: participation, advice and virtuaiisation.
The local Rabobanks participate in initiatives that contribute to local social and economic
development. Many of the employees at the local Rabobanks work as advisors and maintain
regular contact with customers through physical and virtual networks.
Customer needs have changed in recent years; they arrange most of their banking business
through online and mobile channels. Rabobank is thus fully committed to the further
virtuaiisation of its services. This allows us to serve our customers better, faster and at lower cost
at the time of their choosing. If a customer needs an advisor, one is always nearby. In addition,
we strive to keep our costs in line with the market. We put our customers first and want to offer
our services at fair rates, both today and in future.This change process at the local Rabobanks
and Rabobank Nederland was put in motion in 2013, under the name of Vision 2016.
Fewer local Rabobanks
To be able to offer products and services at competitive rates and also to be able to continue to
help customers with more complex requirements, a certain scale is needed. A number of local
Rabobanks do not have this necessary scale. The number of local Rabobanks declined from 129
to 113 in 2014.
Each local Rabobank consists of one or more branch offices. The number of branches declined
in 2014. Many of the smaller branches are visited by only a few customers each day.
The possibilities for using virtual channels and for instance placement of cashier functions in
other retail outlets will mean that we can continue to provide customers with access to banking
services.
The virtuaiisation of services, the decline in the number of local Rabobanks and the closure of
some branches affects the workforce. The internal workforce at domestic retail banking fell by
3,006 FTE to 23,993 FTE. Many employees are involved and the changes are having a serious
impact. Our efforts are thus directed at treating those affected with care.
Loan portfolio at domestic retail banking
The Dutch economy grew in 2014, on the back of a cautious increase in exports and investment.
Exports grew due to economic growth in the eurozone. Residential property sales rose, which
contributed to an increase in investment. Consumers remained cautious, due to the continuing
high level of unemployment. Many households chose to restore their balance sheets by repaying
debt. These developments put a brake on growth in consumption.
The effects of these domestic economic conditions were visible in the development of the loan
portfolio.The private sector loan portfolio at domestic retail banking declined by EUR 12.6
billion in 2014, to EUR 290.5 (303.1billion. Loans to private individuals consist more or less
entirely of residential mortgages. Since customers repaid more of their mortgages, this loan
portfolio fell by EUR 6.0 billion to EUR 205.0 (211.0) billion. Loans to trade, industry and services
(TIS) fell 10% to EUR 56.6 (63.0) billion and loans to the food and agri sector also declined by 2%
to EUR 28.4 (29.1) billion.
Rock-solid bank: performance
