Position Papers
Rabobank vigorously promotes its position on social and political issues that arise in the sectors that it is active. We have published position papers a.o. on our policy with regard to climate and human rights:
The earth is being threatened, however, luckily human ingenuity isn't. People must reach out to their creativity in order to bring the planet back in order and balance. Rabobank is of the opinion that the key to the future lies in the hands of companies that develop a new generation of clean technology. Governments should ensure that all hindrances are removed and that sustainably focussed steps are undertaken to create economic rules of play. Rabobank wants to actively collaborate on this issue. Please go to the download section for full details on this position paper.
As a co-operative bank, Rabobank wants to play the same leading and involved role for Dutch immigrants as for Dutch natives. We want to reflect in our work force and communication the diversity in our markets and working areas. Please go to the download section for full details of this position paper.
In 2005 and 2006 a social debate took place in the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament on the initiative of Mr Crone (Dutch labour party PvdA) to guarantee access to and ease of payments services. Crone proposed obliging banks to have a branch office for every five thousand inhabitants or every 3 km. Rabobank, as the nearby bank par excellence, sympathises with Mr Crone’s proposal but has pointed out that an obligation is not the right way forward. Such an obligation entails extra rules for banks, which under the draft bill can be forced to work together if the Minister of Finance judges that one or more payment services are under-represented in a certain area. In addition it puts a premium on closing down branch offices, as other banks are forced to share in the costs under the proposal. The draft bill therefore penalises banks that have their house in order, such as Rabobank. Moreover a statutory obligation, with the associated administrative and accounting obligations, is far too onerous a remedy, given the size of the problem itself.
Over 3,000 Rabobank contact points
In the Netherlands, Rabobank has almost 1,250 branch offices, around 20 service shops, over 800 ATMs in public locations, more than 250 periodic sessions in community centres, over 430 nursing homes with the RaboCareService and over 260 money services. This amounts to a total of over three thousand contact points. Our ambition is to increase this to 3,100 in the near term. This extended network means that accessibility in accordance with the Crone standard exceeds 99% for Rabobank alone.
At the beginning of January 2007, the results of a detailed examination into specific problematical local shortages were reported to the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament. In our view these can best be resolved by solutions tailored to the local circumstances, instead of by overarching legislation. Rabobank has entered into dialogue with all parties concerned and has contributed to the Social Consultations of Payments Transactions, in which quantitative analyses were presented on accessibility, and in which Rabobank, as the largest domestic retail bank, plays an important part.
The Rabobank Group's more general Code of Conduct broadly states that the Group respects human rights. In order to have a more practical guideline, a Rabobank Group Human Rights Statement was formulated in 2002. To bring this statement in line with current day-to-day activities, a more practical Position Paper was recently developed.
To download the Position Paper Human Rights please see the download section on this page.