Report of the Supervisory Board
2015, One Rabobank
In 2014, parts of the domestic and international banking businesses were merged. In 2015, another
historic step was taken.The member banks and Rabobank Nederland agreed to merge, thereby
creating one bank, with one balance sheet and one annual report.The accompanying changes
to the governance also aim to enhance the customer focus of our banking business and increase
member influence.
The Supervisory Board was pleased with the unanimous support of the 106 local Rabobanks to agree
to this radical organisational change. This is characteristic of what makes Rabobank unique and
illustrates the quality and strength of the internal dialogue we have with our support base of involved
customers and members. The reform of the cooperative governance and the formulation of the
Strategic Framework 2016-2020 have laid the groundwork to reposition Rabobank in the coming years
as a leading cooperative, customer-focused bank in the Netherlands and in food and agri worldwide.
Contents Management report Corporate governance Consolidated financial statements Financial statements Pillar 3
Information on the new governance of Rabobank can be found
in the previous chapter of this Annual Report. In that chapter
you will also find links to documents regarding the compliance
by Rabobank with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code and
the provisions of the Dutch Banking Code. The Supervisory
Board endorses these texts.
In 2015, the Supervisory Board, in accordance with its statutory
duties and responsibilities, supervised the policies pursued
by the Executive Board and the general course of affairs at
Rabobank Nederland and its affiliated institutions. In addition,
the Supervisory Board served as both an advisor to and the
employer of the Executive Board.
This section is structured as follows. First, it describes the
main topics on which the Supervisory Board focused in its
supervisory and advisory roles.This is followed by a discussion
of its role as employer and, finally, there is a section on its
composition and performance.
Supervision and advice
Cooperative governance
In spring 2014, a process was started to establish a new
organisation and governance for Rabobank. The purpose of
this process was to contribute to maintaining and generating
long-term trust with stakeholders in the bank.The Supervisory
Board and the Executive Board share responsibility for the
corporate governance of Rabobank. They have therefore
been closely involved in the governance process for the
last two years. Members of the Supervisory Board attended
various conferences within this context for members of local
management teams and local supervisory bodies. Additionally,
the Cooperative Issues Committee dedicated time to the
subject on a number of occasions. Furthermore, the entire
Supervisory Board discussed the subject in depth with both
internal and external consultants. The Board compared the
design and operation of a number of cooperative models in
the Netherlands, examined the proposed model for Rabobank
and sought independent external advice in this regard.
To this end, the Board closely examined whether members'
influence was effectively embodied in the proposed model and
whether the new governance sufficiently enabled all internal
stakeholders to fulfil their role properly.
158 Rabobank Annual Report 2015
