Contents Introduction Management report Appendices Corporate governance Consolidated Financial Statements Company Financial Statements
Fortis shareholders. A new hearing is scheduled for 16 March
2018.
The settlement process may have one of the two following
outcomes:
(1) the Court of Appeal declares the settlement binding.
Investors may choose to opt out of the settlement during an
opt-out period of three to six months. After this period (and
provided that the settlement is not annulled because the
opt-out ratio exceeds a certain limit), distributions of payments
will start. The release of Rabobank (and other underwriters) is
subject to satisfaction of the compensation obligations towards
the eligible Fortis shareholders. It is expected that it will take at
least 18 months from the Court of Appeal judgement declaring
the settlement agreement binding before the first payments
will be made. Investors that choose to opt out of the settlement
may still claim damages from Ageas and the defendants
(including Rabobank) on an individual basis.
(2) the Court of Appeal does not declare the settlement binding
for all eligible Fortis shareholders or Ageas exercises its right
to annul the settlement in case the opt-out ratio exceeds a
certain limit. If no settlement agreement will be binding, the
proceedings against the VEB described above, in principle will
resume as before the suspension. Rabobank Group considers
the Fortis case to be a contingent liability. No provision has
been made.
On 30 January 2018, Rabobank received a letter indicating that
legal proceedings may be started at a later stage with respect to
a potential collective action in relation to certain share offerings
of Royal Imtech N.V. in which Rabobank was involved.
Libor/Euribor
Rabobank has been involved for a number of years in several
regulatory proceedings in relation to benchmark-related issues.
Rabobank is cooperating, and will continue to cooperate, with
the regulators and authorities involved in these investigations.
On 29 October 2013, Rabobank entered into settlement
agreements with a number of these authorities in relation
to their investigations into the historical Libor and Euribor
submission processes of Rabobank. Additional information is
available on the bank's corporate website. All amounts payable
under these settlement agreements were fully paid and
accounted for by Rabobank in 2013.
Rabobank, along with a large number of other panel banks
and inter-dealer brokers, has been named as a defendant in a
number of putative class action suits and individual civil court
cases brought before the Federal Courts in the United States.
These proceedings relate to the US Dollar (USD) Libor, British
Pound Sterling (GBP) Libor, Japanese Yen (JPY) Libor,Tibor
(note: Rabobank was never a mem-ber of theTIBOR panel)
and Euribor. In 2014, an Argentinian consumer protection
organisation brought an alleged class action suit against
Rabobank in Argentina in relation to USD Libor. Rabobank and/
or its subsidiaries have also received complaints and writs of
summons ordering Rabobank to appear before various Dutch,
United Kingdom and Irish courts in civil proceedings relating to
Euribor and other benchmarks.These by various individuals and
entities (including five Dutch collective claim foundations, two
of which have initiated legal proceedings in the Netherlands).
Since the alleged class action suits and civil proceedings listed
above are intrinsically subject to uncertainties, it is difficult to
predict their outcomes. Rabobank takes the stance that it has
substantive and convincing legal and factual defenses against
these claims. Rabobank has the intention to continue to defend
itself against these claims.
As no reliable estimate can be made, Rabobank Group considers
the Libor/Euribor case to be a contingent liability. No provision
has been made.
BSA/AML
Per year end 2017 Rabobank, National Association (RNA),
a retail banking subsidiary of Rabobank in California, was
under investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ),
the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in
connection with issues related to RNA's BSA/AML compliance
programme and the manner in which certain former employees
communicated with the OCC in 2013. In Q4 2017 RNA took
a provision of USD 369.2 million in anticipation of a potential
settlement as RNA had recently engaged in discussions to
settle these matters. On 7 February 2018 the DOJ, the OCC
and Rabobank and RNA announced that RNA has entered
into agreements with the DOJ and the OCC to conclude the
previously reported investigations. Recognizing the material
improvements the bank has made to its BSA/AML compliance
programme, the OCC has also terminated the Consent Order
issued in December 2013. RNA has agreed to pay approximately
USD 369.2 million in forfeiture and civil money penalties
and fines. It has also agreed to plead guilty to one charge of
conspiring to obstruct a regulatory examination. Under the
plea agreement's terms with the DOJ, no further action will
be taken against RNA with regard to its BSA/AML compliance
programme and related conduct. Given the overlapping nature
of the investigations and the bank's remediation, no additional
penalties or measures will be sought by FinCEN, which has
also concluded its examination. In February 2017 a criminal
complaint was filed with the Dutch Public Prosecutor (DPP)
against Rabobank, two group entities and the persons factually
in charge of these entities asking for a criminal investigation
in relation to the matters related to the DOJ investigation.
Rabobank understands that the DPP has received the complaint
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