Chairman's Foreword
A Healthy Foundation for the Cooperative Bank of the Future
In 2018 we worked on becoming the Rabobank we aspire to be in the future. That is, a unique,
cooperative bank that makes a difference in society and that contributes to solving the global food
issue. Our transition to "cooperative bank of the future" is on schedule. Customer satisfaction went
up again in 2018, we once again posted strong financial results, and we further optimized our balance
sheet. This creates a stable foundation for the meaningful cooperative we aim to be, both in our home
market the Netherlands as well as in the other countries around the world where we are active in the
Food Agri sector. Our mission, 'Growing a better world together', took shape in tangible ways this
past year and we are poised to continue these efforts.
About this
Report
Chairman's
Foreword
Corporate
Management Report Appendices Governance
Consolidated Financial Company Financial
Statements Statements
We should be proud of what we accomplished in 2018. Three
years ago, Rabobank embarked on an enormous transition. It is
an intense process that is leading to rapid changes throughout
the bank and transforming the work our people do. It finally seems
that we have the space to shine again and to show the world
what we are doing, like intensifying investments in innovation
and digitalization that will greatly benefit our customers and
working to realize several UN Sustainable Development Goals.
These are all positive developments. We can look back on 2018
with satisfaction. Of course, we have a long way to go yet, and for
that reason, I am pleased and grateful that the Supervisory Board
invited me to stay for another four-year term last September. In
the next phase, I will be able to dedicate even more attention to
the future of cooperative banking in a changing world and to
giving further shape to our mission.
We are proud to report that we have made good progress on all
four strategic pillars connected to our mission: excellent customer
focus, meaningful cooperative, rock-solid bank and empowered
employees. The financial markets are again very volatile.
Persistently low interest rates also presented obstacles for banks
during 2018. Furthermore, the digitalization of our sector is
moving ever more swiftly. We are constantly on the lookout for
new ways to use technology to simplify banking for our
customers, while also making it more enjoyable. This trend is
likely to continue for some time.
Customer satisfaction again rose in 2018, as did our reputation
scores. The financial sector has not managed to restore public
confidence and, collectively, we still have much to do in the way
of structural improvements. As a cooperative bank, we as
Rabobank can only change this by showing and convincing the
public and our clients how we distinguish ourselves as a mission-
driven, rock-solid and reliable organization, with a strong
customer focus.
The past year demonstrated that our organization's new
management team is up to the task. We have fully incorporated
the Dutch banking business in the new top team structure, which
has helped to shape the One Rabobank culture. The leadership
program is making more and more colleagues co-owners of the
change taking place throughout the bank. A significant number
ofwomen occupy top positions within the bank. This is still rising.
Young people are realizing that we are creating a shared culture,
with many opportunities and options.
Petra van Hoeken stepped down as Chief Risk Officer and
Member of the Managing Board. I would like to thank her for her
leadership, dedication and contribution to raising Rabobank's risk
awareness. With decades of international experience, Petra laid a
strong foundation and introduced improvements to our risk
management system and reporting.
Overall, our results indicate positive development. Our net profit
went up and we further strengthened our capital buffers. We are
conscious of the fact that we are operating in a very low interest
rate environment. Therefore we have to keep reducing costs. Our
network in the Netherlands is relatively extensive, compared to
other banks. This is a conscious choice: as a bank we want to be
close to our customers. Rabobank aims to keep growing its core
activities, while also providing new services to address social
Annual Report 2018
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