About this
Report
Chairman's
Foreword
Corporate
Management Report Appendices Governance
Consolidated Financial Company Financial
Statements Statements
(2017: EUR 603) billion, driven by a decrease in loans and
advances to banks and loans and advances to customers. On the
other hand we actively managed down our non-strategic
commercial real estate loan portfolio by selling the residual part
of FGH Bank's loan portfolio (worth EUR 1.3 billion) to RNHB.
Rabobank announced in March 2018 that it had entered into an
agreement to share the risk on part of its Dutch SME loan
portfolio with the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the
European Investment Bank (EIB). As a result of this transaction,
risk-weighted assets decreased by EUR 1.2 billion, which helps to
optimize the bank's capital use. In September Rabobank sold a
share of its mortgage portfolio worth around EUR 0.8 billion to
French investor La Banque Postale. This transaction enabled
Rabobank to free up capital and reduce its funding needs. Lastly,
BPD Europe B.V. sold its French subsidiary BPD Marignan in
November.
Credit Ratings Stood Firm in 2018
Rabobank's credit ratings stood firm and at a relatively high level
in 2018, reflecting the organization's creditworthiness and
solidity. Rabobank remained oneofthe highest rated commercial
banks worldwide. The ratings remained unchanged with S&P ("A
Fitch ("AA-"), and DBRS ("AA"). Rabobank also maintained its
outlook with these rating agencies: "Stable" with both Fitch and
DBRS, and "Positive" with S&P. Moody's revised our credit rating
to Aa3 from Aa2 in March 2018. Simultaneously, they revised the
outlook from "Negative" to "Stable".
All the rating agencies view our leading position in the Dutch
banking sector and the international Food Agri sector as
important ratings drivers. Our large buffer of equity and
subordinated debt, which offers protection to non-subordinated
bondholders, also plays an important role in our ratings.
Read more on Rabobank's credit ratings here.
Annual Report 2018 - Management Report
50
