g Kirsten Konst
Member of the Managing Board
and responsible for Commercial
Banking in the Netherlands and
Local Banks
About this
Report
Chairman's
Foreword
Corporate
Management Report Appendices Governance
Consolidated Financial Company Financial
Statements Statements
This was a year of acceleration and
implementation. I noticed that we were
getting things done much faster than in the
past. That's because we adapted the structure
of many parts of the bank. We now have a
flatter organization and work increasingly in
multidisciplinary teams. In short, we are much
further down the road to becoming one bank.
The mission of'Growing a better world
together' is what connects all the different
links in the chain.
At every meeting with our staff, I restate our
objective for our commercial clients in the
Netherlands: we want to help entrepreneurs
to grow sustainably. That's the phrase I
repeated most frequently in 2018, and that
repetition is having an impact. Everybody is
Innovation and sustainability are important
for the economy and society. Rabobank wants
to be a supportive bank that is focused on
long-term relationships that empower
entrepreneurs to innovate and develop their
business model for a sustainable future. That
is why we are starting a dialogue on
innovation and sustainability with all our
clients. Some entrepreneurs are leading the
change and others are struggling with all the
challenges.
It is not always easy to transform a business.
And that's when I emphasize the last word in
our mission: together. As Rabobank, we want
to support the change by offering financial
solutions and sharing our knowledge and
networks. We aim to facilitate the dialogue
between entrepreneurs, field experts and
other stakeholders. We all need to change if
the energy and agri transition in the
Netherlands isto be successful. We are keen to
contribute by engaging in this discussion with
all entrepreneurs. Putting our mission into
practice and 'Growing a better world together'.
Looking ahead, we will certainly maintain our
close connection with clients from all our local
Rabobanks. In the summer we presented our
Banking 3.0 program. It involves restructuring
the local banks and establishing 14 regional
specialist teams in knowledge hubs for the
benefit of all our clients. This lets us ensure that
we have more frequent and better quality
customer contacts. The 14 teams are a source
of sector knowledge for the whole of the
Netherlands.
keenly aware of where our focus lies. We offer
our clients financial solutions and access to
relevant networks and knowledge. For
instance, through our Entrepreneurs
Academy, through our circular economy
challenges, through our workshops on
digitalization across the country, and through
the inspirational mini documentaries we make
about entrepreneurs sharing their story on the
growth of their company. We do all this to
support ourcommercial clients and helpthem
to grow sustainably.
