Performance Domestic retail banking Economy growing, housing market recovered and loan impairment charges falling From an economic point of view, things were better in 2015 for the Netherlands than in 2014. Pretty much across the country, the recovery took hold in the housing market, employment opportunities grew and households' disposable incomes grew.The recovery in business investment remained modest. New loans to businesses were at a low level. Alongside this, the relatively low interest on savings contributed to more households paying off their mortgages. Under the influence of these developments, the domestic loans portfolio shrank by 3% to EUR 281.9 billion. Amounts due to customers rose by 2% to EUR 212.4 billion.The economic recovery was clearly reflected in the trend in loan impairment charges, which fell by EUR 1,079 million to EUR 343 million. This is mainly the result of the improved economic situation, but is also due to some one-off adjustments. Loan impairment charges thus amounted to 12 basis points of average lending, against a long-term average of 23 basis points. In a number of Dutch markets that are important for Rabobank - the savings market and the mortgage market - Rabobank maintained a strong presence but did lose market share.The market share in lending to the trade, industry and services sectors rose to 42%, while the market share in the food and agri sector remained stable. The net profit of the domestic retail banking division amounted to EUR 1,321 million, an increase of EUR 788 million compared to 2014.The strong decrease in loan impairment charges was decisive for the recovery in profits. Elowever, results from the domestic retail banking business were down EUR 89 million due to the contributions to the national resolution fund. In 2014, the non-recurrent resolution levy caused a further reduction of EUR 274 million in the net profits for the domestic retail banking business.There was another relatively strong fall in the number of employees in the domestic retail banking business in 2015. As a result, staff costs finished 7% lower. Income fell due to lower margins on new mortgages and a decline in the loan portfolio. Contents Management report Corporate governance Consolidated financial statements Financial statements Pillar 3 Strategy Rabobank's ambition is to be the most customer-focused bank in the Netherlands.The visions outlined in Banking for the Netherlands fleshes out our intent to stimulate economic growth. We strengthen our customers with our financial products, knowledge and experience, paying extra attention to specific target groups, such as youths, seniors, entrepreneurs and people who do not have permanent employment. We contribute to building the home, work and entrepreneurial environment so that communities will become better than ever before. Thereby we focus on the topics of mobility, vitality, food and agriculture, raw materials, water, and housing. Read more about Banking for the Netherlands in the section on Strategy. We want to achieve our ambition through an excellent basic service provision, by bringing our services closer to our customers and by fulfilling our role as a financial linking pin. 27 Performance

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Annual Reports Rabobank | 2015 | | pagina 28