Wiebe Draijer, Chairman
of the Managing Board
Contents Introduction Management report Appendices Corporate governance Consolidated Financial Statements Company Financial Statements
Looking ahead
In 2017 Rabobank laid a solid foundation for the next step in its
transition. The environment is changing fast and we will boost
our digitalisation and innovation efforts so we can continue
to offer optimum service to our clients. Our employees play
a key role in this process.The legislative changes in Europe,
such as PSD2 and GDPR, will alter client interactions in all
industries. Open banking could make us just one of many
ecosystem choices. While the regulatory requirements of the
reform of Basel III have finally been made clear, they do not
favour north-western European banks like ourselves, with a
prudent risk profile like Rabobank. We will of course comply
with these new requirements on time, but we would prefer a
more level playing field. The favourable economic climate in
many parts of the world helped many customers thrive in 2017
and this will continue in 2018. When our customers do well,
we do well. Yet we also face considerable uncertainties.The
interest rate landscape in 2018 is likely to remain challenging
for our customers and our balance sheet. And the geopolitical
environment is both tense and unpredictable. The one constant
in the world - not just the financial sector - is change and
disruption.
While we can be pleased with our progress in 2017, we are not
there yet. I believe that our new positioning and clear direction
as a meaningful cooperative will serve as a source of inspiration
for our employees and our customers. It represents the basis for
the choices we make in the future. As the natural world teaches
us, adaptivity is key in a changing, and sometimes hostile,
environment. In the future we will focus even more keenly on
adaptivity: the key not only to survival, but also to thriving.
Wiebe Draijer, Chairman of the Managing Board
Rabobank Annual Report 2017
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