Performance
Rabobank Group
Rabobank Group booked result of EUR 2.2 billion
Growth in the Dutch economy made a persuasive comeback in 2015. Along with exports, domestic
spending made a significant contribution to economic growth for the first time in many years,
benefiting growth in all sectors. The weighted average loan-to-value of the mortgage portfolio
improved by 5 percentage points to 73%.The number of homeowners with a mortgage debt higher
than the value of their house declined due to additional repayments and an increase in property
values.The Netherlands saw only a weak recovery of business investment, with new loans to businesses
remaining at a low level. At the local Rabobanks, the additional repayments on residential mortgages
remained at a high level, amounting to EUR 3.4 billion.These developments caused a decline of 3%
in the Dutch loan portfolio. However, the loan portfolio increased outside the Netherlands, partially
due to currency effects. On balance, loans to private customers decreased by EUR 3.5 billion to
EUR 426.2 billion. Amounts due to customers increased by EUR 11.3 billion to EUR 337.6 billion.
There was a slight decline in private savings due to additional repayments on residential mortgages.
These developments resulted in an improvement of the loan-to-deposit ratio to 1.25. The liquidity
buffer, measured in High Quality Liquid Assets, stood at EUR 98 (80) billion.
The net result of Rabobank Group amounted to EUR 2,214 million in 2015, an increase of
EUR 372 million. In the Netherlands, the decrease of loan impairment charges was determining for the
recovery in earnings at the local Rabobanks. Our customers fared better, which reflected positively on
Rabobank. Additionally, the reduction of the number of staff at the local Rabobanks contributed to
a decline in staff costs. The recovery in the housing market and lower loan impairment charges also led
to a growth in results for FGH Bank and Rabo Real Estate Group, while DLL also saw growth in 2015.
The result was tempered by a goodwill impairment of EUR 604 million for Rabobank National
Association (RNA).The tax burden, which had been low in 2014 due to deferred tax assets resulting
from past losses incurred by ACC Loan Management, returned to its normal level of 23%.The return
on tier 1 capital increased by 1.3 percentage points to 6.5%.The equity was further strengthened by
retained earnings and the issue of additional tier 1 capital.The common equity tier 1 ratio amounted
to 13.5% and the capital ratio rose to 23.2%. Loan impairment charges declined by EUR 1.6 billion and
amounted to 24 basis points of the average loan portfolio. The long-term average was 36 basis points.
The decline in loan impairment charges was most significant in the Netherlands.
Contents Management report Corporate governance Consolidated financial statements Financial statements Pillar 3
16 Rabobank Annual Report 2015
