Contents Foreword Management report Corporate governance
into dialogues with our stakeholders and sometimes adjust our
goals as a result. We aim to be ranked by independent rating
agencies as one of the most sustainable, globally operating,
general banks by 2020.
Growthpath
We have made meaningful progress with the implementation
of SST during this year and are satisfied with the progress on
the measurement of progress on the targets we have set for our
contribution to sustainable development until 2020. For all KPIs
we introduced measurement, improved its quality and/or made
progress on the realisation of the targets themselves.
We aim to report in line with the expectations of our
stakeholders in a fully integrated and meaningful way about our
activities. This requires further integration in the management
of and reporting on financial and non-financial targets,
activities and results. We will therefore further integrate the
management of and reporting about Banking for Food, Banking
for the Netherlands and SST next year.
The quality of data gathering requires further improvement as
well. Software is being developed to realise this. The integration
with the management cycle for our two strategic pillars will
be strengthened to this aim. This requires further integration
of the existing management information systems and -
processes. These activities were started during this year and
will be continued upon delivery next year. In addition we will
optimise the clarity of the wording of the KPIs of SST using
the practical experience in implementing them over the last
two years. We expect that the activities described will make it
possible to realise both a faster realisation of the targets set, the
measurement of its progress and the reporting about it.
Strategy
In 2016 we started the implementation of the Strategic
Framework 2016-2020, which describes how we want to
achieve our ambitions. This strategy provides a sharpened focus
on improving customer service and realising a fundamental
improvement in financial performance across Rabobank in
order to safeguard our future success. To fulfil our ambitions for
2020, we are focusing on three core objectives.
1. Excellent customer focus
In the Netherlands, we strive to be the most customer-focused
bank in the country and we aim for a sharp increase in customer
satisfaction outside the Netherlands as well. We believe that
this is where our strength and distinctiveness lie. Rabobank will
undergo a fundamental transformation in the coming years
in terms of working methods, culture, attitudes and conduct.
By doing so, we are responding to changes in customer needs,
Consolidated Financial Statements Company Financial Statements Pillar 3
the uncertain economic climate, expectations of society and
the stricter requirements of regulators. We want to become the
most customer-focused bank in the Netherlands and in the
F&A sector internationally by excelling in basic services, being
the closest to our customers at key moments and fulfilling our
role as a financial linking pin.
2. Increased flexibility and reduction of the balance sheet
In the years to come, we anticipate a further tightening of the
regulatory environment, for example the implementation of the
proposed reforms to Basel III and MREL. To maintain our position
as a rock-solid bank, it will be necessary to make our balance sheet
more flexible. We want to achieve balance sheet optimisation
by, among other things, placing parts of our loan portfolio
with external parties and maintaining a liquidity buffer that is
in line with the reduced balance sheet total. We are carefully
monitoring ongoing developments with regard to the pending
Basel regulations, the final outcome of which will ultimately
determine the extent of the required balance sheet reduction,
but without changing our other financial targets for 2020.
3. Performance improvement
To maintain our position as a rock-solid bank we need to realise
an improvement in performance. Our aim for 2020 is a gross
profit (before tax) improvement of EUR 2 billion (excluding the
effects of the reduction of our balance sheet) compared to 2014,
which will be realised by improvements within our central
organisation, the local Rabobanks and the international
organisation. The improvement should be effected by both higher
revenues and lower costs through increasing efficiency and
new ways of working. Reaching this level of profit improvement
will improve the cost/income ratio to approximately 53-54% in
2020, and we will achieve a return on invested capital (ROIC) of
at least 8%. For more information, click here.
Accelerators
The strategy calls for a substantial transformation of the
Rabobank. In view of the challenge we face, and to accelerate
implementation and realisation, we identify three accelerators
simultaneously to realise and strengthen the transformation:
1 Strengthening innovativeness: Innovativeness is essential
both for an excellent customer focus and for building
a rock-solid bank. Innovation allows us to improve our own
services and respond rapidly to opportunities in the market.
In addition, innovation is essential to provide support with
regard to the strategic issues our customers face.
2 Empowered employees: Achieving the strategic objectives
will require a transformation into an organisation in which
there is scope for professionalism and entrepreneurship, with
a continual focus on development and training, employee
diversity and a good, learning corporate culture.
15 About Rabobank
