Contents Management report Corporate governance Consolidated financial statements Financial statements Pillar 3
3 Nearby bank
Our customers make use of online banking more and more.
Therefore, fewer customers came to our offices and Rabobank
has closed a lot of locations in the Netherlands in the past few
years. So, personal contact with employees has decreased and
we expect this trend to continue in the future. However, we do
aim to get closer to the customer in various ways:
socially: as an involved bank customers can count on
virtually: through smart technology with which customers
can take care of their banking quickly and easily
personally: through involved advisors who help the customer
get ahead in crucial times
In 2015, we started new initiatives that emphasise our local
involvement. Advisors at approximately thirty Rabobanks will
visit (free of charge) customers for whom the bank office is too
far away or who are less mobile due to a handicap.The advisors
will meet the customer at their home, in the hospital or another
location.
Many banks organise walk-in hours, for example in care homes,
libraries or doctor's surgeries. For customers who are unable to
independently take out cash money from an ATM, Rabobank
delivers cash money at home.
In 2015, several banks created 'Regional teams', consisting
of employees who have lived and worked in the same area
for years. They do not only visit as an advisor, but can also be
in touch with the village council or local interest groups, for
example. In this way, Rabobank is known in villages and shows
its involvement in what is happening in the local community.
O Read more about the social role of Rabobank in the
Annual Review
4 Mortgages
Customers looking for a mortgage also find us online more
and more often. Within the Rabobank Mortgage File (part of
www.rabobank.nl) customers can learn more about mortgages,
calculate how much they can borrow and what the monthly
costs would be. If they themselves upload the necessary
documents and data in the system in advance, they will
receive a discount on their consultation with the bank. In 2015,
1.1 million customers used the Mortgage File and there are over
150,000 online Mortgage Files shared with Rabobank.
In 2015 it became possible to start a chat in the Rabobank
Mortgage File with an employee. We can now directly answer
many questions that come up during the online process.
Every week, more than a thousand chats take place. Research
shows that customers appreciate our good accessibility, as well
as the speed and quality of responses. Beginning in 2016, we
introduced video chat, as a result of which the customer and
advisor can also see each other while chatting.This makes the
contact much more personal.
Conversation within 24 hours
Many customers appeared dissatisfied with the turnaround of
our mortgage process: it took a long time to be called back
and making an appointment proved difficult. Based on these
complaints, Rabobank decided to radically change direction
in 2015. 'Call today, talk tomorrow' is the promise to our Dutch
mortgage customers that we have tried to uphold as of 1 June
2015. Admittedly it is a major challenge to keep this promise,
but we purposely setthe bar high. Beginning in 2015, in 41
percent of cases it was possible to arrange an appointment
within a day, by the end of 2015 the rate was 74 percent.
O Read the story and watch the video about our customers
Felie and Bart
Mortgage for flexible workers
Flexible workers should be able to get a mortgage more easily.
With this premise, the subsidiary Obvion began a trial with
Randstad and Vereniging Eigen Huis at the end of 2013. In 2015
Rabobank also joined this initiative, together with other banks
and financial institutions. The idea of the mortgage for flexible
workers is that financiers now look at income security rather
than job security in obtaining a mortgage. This gives flexible
workers the possibility to obtain a mortgage on perspective.
Interest rate averaging available to mortgage customers
Customers who want to change their interest rate contract
early from 1 July 2016 can make use of interest rate averaging,
penalty-free. For this, the mortgage rate and the remaining term
of the interest rate contract that the customer currently holds
are averaged with the actual fixed rate and term which they
select. This service is intended mainly for customers who do not
have the funds to pay penalty interest in a single payment.
5 SMEs
Rabobank wants to be a reliable partner for entrepreneurial
Netherlands. We want to help customers achieve their
ambitions. For each customer with a solid business plan,
Rabobank provides various possibilities. In addition to offering
appropriate products, we are also able to establish valuable
connections with investors and we contribute to initiatives that
make life easier for the life of an entrepreneur.
77 Corporate social responsibility report
