Notes to the financial statements
of Rabobank
7 General
2 Accounting policies
Contents Management report Corporate governance Consolidated financial statements Financial statements Pillar 3
The financial statements of Rabobank, a credit institution as
referred to in Section 1:1 of the Financial Supervision Act,
have been prepared in accordance with accounting policies
generally accepted in the Netherlands and comply with
the financial reporting requirements included in Part 9 of
Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code. With one exception, these
accounting policies are the same as those used in preparing the
consolidated financial statements of Rabobank Group, which
have been prepared in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union.
The exception is the valuation of participating interests (and
joint ventures).The participating interests are valued at net
asset value. The terminology of the following accounting
policies is derived from the consolidated financial statements.
Rabobank Group, the Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. (Rabobank)
and the legal entities and companies that form part of the
group, is an international financial services provider operating
on the basis of cooperative principles. On 31 December 2015,
Rabobank Group comprised 106 independent local Rabobanks
(with 506 branches) in the Netherlands, members of the central
organisation Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank
B.A. and a number of specialised subsidiaries. On 1 January
2016, the local Rabobanks and the Coöperatieve Centrale
Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. entered into a legal merger.
Furthermore, on 1 January 2016, the name of the Coöperatieve
Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. was changed into
Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. More information on this matter
is included in the Section 'Events after the reporting period'.
Rabobank has its registered office in Amsterdam.
The accounting policies applicable to the financial statements
of Rabobank are set out below.
The main accounting policies used in preparing these financial
statements are explained below.
2.1 General
The consolidated financial statements of Rabobank have
been prepared in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union.
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared
on the basis of the accounting policies mentioned hereafter.
The remaining assets and liabilities are accounted for on
a historical cost basis, unless otherwise stated. Unless otherwise
stated, all amounts in the financial statements are in millions of
euros.These accounting policies contain several references to
individual income statement items.The profit and loss account
is prepared in accordance with article 2: of Article 402 of the
Dutch Civil Code.The aforementioned income statement items
are not included herein. Insofar as other insights prompted
reclassifications, the comparative figures have been accordingly.
New and amended standards issued by the IASB and
endorsed by the European Union, applicable to the
financial year under review
Improvements to International Financial Reporting
Standards cycle 2011-2013
The objective of the improvements is to address non-urgent,
but necessary issues discussed by the IASB during the project
cycle that began in 2011 on areas of inconsistencies in IFRS
or ambiguous wording. The amendments to IFRS 3 and 13
represent clarifications of, or adjustments to, the respective
standards. The amendments to IAS 40 concern changes to
the existing requirements or additional guidelines for the
application ofthese requirements.These improvements have
no impact on profit or equity and took effect on 1 January 2015.
New and amended standards issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and
endorsed by the European Union which do not yet
apply in the current financial year
Improvements to International Financial Reporting
Standards cycle 2010-2012
The objective of the improvements is to address non
urgent, but necessary issues discussed by the IASB during
the project cycles that began in 2010 and 2011 on areas of
inconsistencies in IFRS or where clarification of wording was
required.The amendments to IFRS 8 and IAS 16, 24 and 38
represent clarifications of, or adjustments to, the respective
standards. The amendments to IFRS 2 and 3 concern changes
to the existing requirements or additional guidelines for the
application ofthese requirements.These improvements have
no impact on profit or equity and took effect on 1 January 2016.
257 Notes to the financial statements of Rabobank
