Chairman's foreword
Strong performance but some way to go
We are committed to being a meaningful cooperative bank, making a substantial contribution
towards achieving welfare and prosperity in the Netherlands and to resolving the global food issue.
We are shaping our mission of'Growing a better world together'with passion and this is bearing
fruit. In 2017 we accelerated our efforts to reach the goals set in our Strategic Framework 2016-
2020. We further reinforced our position in Food Agriculture in the Netherlands and around the
world. The future Rabobank is taking shape with more satisfied customers, innovations, a stronger
balance sheet and improved financial results.
Contents Introduction Management report Appendices Corporate governance Consolidated Financial Statements Company Financial Statements
Our cooperative structure helps us identify and act upon the
issues which matter to our 7.3 million retail and corporate
customers in the Netherlands. Last year, for instance, we took
specific measures to help starters and seniors in the housing
market. Our recent efforts relating to livestock production
rights (such as phosphate legislation) underscore our strong
commitment to our clients and partners in the Dutch Food
Agri sector. Local Rabobanks allocated an amount of EUR 45
(2016:40) million from their net profit for future investments in
local community initiatives in the Netherlands.
As a leading global Food Agri bank, that lends around EUR 98
billion to corporate and rural clients in the Food Agri sector,
we are uniquely positioned to help our clients to produce
more and better quality food in a more sustainable way, while
using fewer resources. In October we launched the Kickstart
Food programme. In collaboration with the UN Environment
Programme, we are creating a USD 1 billion facility to help
accelerate the transition to a sustainable food supply. Our
Sustainably Stronger Together mission and our commitment
to the UN Sustainable Development Goals guide us in
helping clients around the world make their businesses more
sustainable.
The capital targets we set for 2020 were reached this year,
which we consider prudent given upcoming new regulations
and we posted a net profit over the year of EUR 2,674 million.
Our ratings are stable, as are our market shares and margins,
despite external volatile realities. Our Net Promotor Score
and other metrics have shownn even higher levels of client
appreciation nearly all our businesses throughout 2017. We
have applied greater focus in our Food Agri portfolios and,
through the work of Rabo Development and with the help
of the independent Rabobank Foundation1, we are helping 5
million poor small farmers in the developing world to achieve
self-reliance. We have launched and driven forward numerous
digital innovations (including our first block chain application
in 2017) and our operational indicators on reliability and
availability have improved sharply. We have introduced many
innovations in our client service offerings, and have improved
the Rabobank digital experience across many domains. The
Rabo banking App is now highly rated and offers the widest
number of services provided on the platform. The vast majority
of our segments and businesses have delivered higher
performance this year compared to last. What's more, we have
done this with a more diverse leadership team: 26% of our
senior management positions are now occupied by women
(up from 25%), while 40% of the Managing Board and 33% of
the Supervisory Board are female. We are deeply committed to
diversity of all forms and will continue to champion this cause
in 2018.
Our employees make the difference. They are the people
bringing about the bank's transition and we very much
appreciate their efforts. Human Resources'attention for talent is
now represented at the highest management level, with Janine
Vos being appointed as CHRO. The results of recent surveys
show an inspiring rise in employee motivation, thanks in part to
our new mission Growing a better world together. Our mission
1 The Rabobank Foundation is an independent foundation, founded
about 40 years ago by local Rabobanks. Up to this day the local
banks donate a percentage of their profits to the foundation.
The foundation's financial statements are not consolidated within
Rabobank's consolidated financial statements.
Rabobank Annual Report 2017
2
