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Marielle Lichtenberg
Member of the Managing Board
and responsible for Retail and
Private Banking in the Netherlands
Excellent
Customer
Focus
About this Chairman's Corporate Consolidated Financial Company Financial
Report Foreword Management Report Appendices Governance Statements Statements
For me, the starting point for everything we
come up with at the bank is: How do we keep
our customers happy? People who actively
bank with Rabobank are very loyal. We must
always keep that in mind. I want to reward
their loyalty, and the best way to do that is to
make customers' lives as easy as possible. For
instance, through our highly rated Banking
App.
In 2018 we examined situations in which we
are losing customers.Two important events
stood out in customers' lives. The first is
around their 18th birthday, when they receive
a complicated and not exactly friendly letter
from Rabobank. The second is when they
decide to move in with their partner. In the
latter case, we hadn't made it easy to open a
joint account. We have now simplified the
process in both cases and made it all much
more accessible. The result was wonderfully
positive: without any marketing, over 10,000
joint accounts were opened online. This
example perfectly reflects our approach to
helping customers create the conditions for
good financial health. For me it represents the
practical application of our mission 'Growing
a better world together' to what we do for
customers.
I tend to be pragmatic by nature and certainly
when it comes to thinking up and rolling out
ideas. It's the "how" that interests me most. As
far as I'm concerned, the best possible way to
answering this question is to listen carefully to
customers. Now and in the future. That is -and
always has been-the essence of our bank. You
need to be well informed about the problems
your customers face and resist the temptation
to get to focused on your own solutions. The
fact is, they don't always truly solve
customers' problems. For instance, many
young people find themselves struggling
towards the end of the month when they have
al most run out of money. For that target group
we developed "Passi," a dedicated website
that answers questions and gives advice
entirely from the perspective of young people.
It's convenient, accessible and totally digital
that's what it's all about, it's what they want.
The bank helps people to become more aware
of their financial situation: their pension, costs
of care and housing. In February 2018, we
started a targeted campaign for this purpose.
The only problem is that we are primarily
reaching people in a position of privilege. In
the Netherlands 1.8 million people struggle
with debt problems. We want to reach these
people too and help them become financially
self-reliant. I think it's wonderful that the
Dutch banks have committed to addressing
this theme together!