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{{Short description|Dutch banking and financial services company}}
{{About|the Dutch bank|the cycling team formerly sponsored by this company|Visma–Lease a Bike (men's team)|the event venues in Bakersfield, California|Rabobank Arena|and|Rabobank Theater and Convention Center}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}

{{Infobox company
| name = Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. 
| logo           = Rabobank logo.svg
| logo_size    = 150
| image= Utrecht, hoofdkantoor van de Rabobank foto4 2015-11-01 12.03.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_caption = Headquarters at [[Rabobank Bestuurscentrum|Rabotoren]]
| type         = Uitgesloten aansprakelijkheid (excluded liability [[cooperative]])
| industry     = [[Financial services]]
| predecessors = Raiffeisen-Bank <br /> Boerenleenbank
| founded      = {{start date|1895}}
| hq_location  = [[Rabobank Bestuurscentrum|Rabotoren]]
| hq_location_city = [[Utrecht]]
| hq_location_country = Netherlands
| num_locations = 144 (Netherlands) (2022)<ref name=AR2022/>
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = Stefaan Decraene <small>([[Chairman]])</small><br />Bas Brouwers <small>([[Chief financial officer|CFO]])</small>
| products = [[Bank]]ing <br /> [[Insurance]] <br /> [[Leasing]] <br /> [[Real estate]]
| revenue = {{decrease}}[[Euro|€]]12 billion (2022)<ref name="AR2022">{{Cite web|url=https://media.rabobank.com/m/467790ff0c0d80c6/original/Annual-Report-2022-EN.pdf|title=Annual Report 2022|website=rabobank.com|access-date=3 November 2023}}</ref>
| operating_income = {{increase}}€7 billion (2022)<ref name=AR2022/>
| profit = {{decrease}}€2.7 billion (2022)<ref name=AR2022/>
| assets = {{increase}}€635.865 billion (Q3 2025)<ref name=AR2022/>
| equity = {{increase}}€46 billion (2022)<ref name=AR2022/>
| num_employees = {{increase}}46,959 (2022)<ref name=AR2022/>
| subsid =
| rating =              <!-- credit rating, for BANKS ONLY -->
| footnotes =
| website =             {{URL|www.rabobank.com}}
}}
'''Rabobank''' ({{IPA|nl|ˈraːboːbɑŋk}}; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch [[Multinational corporation|multinational]] banking and [[financial services]] company headquartered in [[Utrecht]], Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Rabobank Nederland), and many specialised international offices and [[Subsidiary|subsidiaries]]. Food and [[agribusiness]] constitute the primary international focus of the Rabobank Group.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RaboBank Group Profile |url=http://www.rabobank.com/content/about_us}}</ref> Rabobank is the second-largest bank in the Netherlands in terms of total assets.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Major Banks in the Netherlands |date=2 October 2016|url=https://thebanks.eu/articles/major-banks-in-the-Netherlands}}</ref>

In terms of [[Tier 1 capital]], the organisation is among the 50 largest financial institutions in the world. As of 2022, total assets amount to €628 billion with a net profit of €2.7 billion.<ref name=AR2022/>

Rabobank has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of [[European Banking Supervision]] in late 2014, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the [[European Central Bank]].<ref>{{cite web |website=European Central Bank |title=The list of significant supervised entities and the list of less significant institutions |url=https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/ecb/pub/pdf/ssm-listofsupervisedentities1409en.pdf |date={{date|2014/09/04}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=European Central Bank |title=List of supervised entities |date={{date|2023/01/01}} |url=https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/ecb/pub/pdf/ssm.listofsupervisedentities202302.en.pdf }}</ref>

==History==
Rooted in [[agriculture]], Rabobank is set up as a federation of local [[credit unions]] that offer services to the local markets.

=== Creation of farmers' banks ===
The bank was rooted in the ideas of [[Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen]], the founder of the cooperative movement of credit unions, who in 1864 created the first farmers' bank in Germany. Being a countryside mayor he was confronted with the abject poverty of the farmers and their families. He tried to alleviate this need through [[Charity (practice)|charitable aid]], but realised that [[Self-sufficiency|self-reliance]] had more potential in the long run, and thus converted his charitable foundation into a farmers' bank in 1864. In doing so he created the ''Darlehnskassen-Verein'', which collected the savings of countryside dwellers and provided enterprising farmers with loans.<ref>{{Cite news |title=1500 euro lenen? Vergelijk alle mogelijkheden! - 1500eurolenen.nl |language=nl-NL |work=1500 Euro Lenen |url=https://1500eurolenen.nl/ |access-date=15 May 2017}}</ref>

This model found a lot of interest in the Netherlands at the end of the 19th century. One of the first of Raiffeisen's followers was Father Gerlacus van den Elsen, who stood at the basis of a number of local farmers' banks in the south of the Netherlands. The model caught on being championed by the clergy and the countryside [[elite]]s. The mission of the farmers' lending banks was an idealistic one, but they always operated using strict business principles. The cooperative bank model assured a tight bond between invested capital and the community.
[[File:Rabobank pinautomaat.jpg|thumb|A Rabobank ATM in [[Nieuw-Vennep]], Netherlands]]

=== Early cooperation ===
The bank's traditional headquarters are [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]] and [[Eindhoven]]. In 1898, two cooperative bank conglomerates were formed:
* Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Bank in Utrecht
* Coöperatieve Centrale Boerenleenbank in Eindhoven

Raiffeisen-Bank was formed as a cooperative of six local banks, while Boerenleenbank was a cooperative of 22 local banks. These two existed side by side for three-quarters of a century despite their obvious similarities. The reasons for this owed in part to legal disagreements. The most important difference, however, was cultural. The Eindhoven-based Boerenleenbank had a decidedly [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] signature while the Raiffeisen-Bank had a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] background. In the past the Netherlands underwent a process of [[pillarisation]] (Dutch: ''verzuiling''), which in practice meant that members of different religious congregations and political movements essentially lived side by side, without contact between the two. A consequence of this pillarisation was that many villages hosted not one but two local banks, one each for Catholics and Protestants. The close-knit community banking that resulted helped these banks to better control their risks. Consequently, when the Dutch banking sector was devastated by a financial crisis in the early 1920s, these local banks survived largely unscathed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Colvin |first=Christopher L. |date=2017-08-21 |title=Banking on a Religious Divide: Accounting for the Success of the Netherlands' Raiffeisen Cooperatives in the Crisis of the 1920s |journal=Journal of Economic History |volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=866–919 |doi=10.1017/S0022050717000663 |issn=1471-6372 |doi-access=free|hdl=10419/157272 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The religious backgrounds found their way to their organisational structures, as well; Boerenleenbank was highly centralised, while Raiffeisen-Bank promoted local [[autonomy]].

===Merger and overseas expansion===
By 1940, the two organisations cooperated with each other, albeit on a limited scale. Three major developments caused a further tightening of the bonds between the two:
* An increase in the number of branches, leading to increased local competition
* A gradual fading of the confessional differences between the two
* An increasing demand for capital in the Dutch industry, which in turn led to higher [[Market concentration|concentration]] in the banking business

In 1972, the two organisations merged to form ''Coöperatieve Centrale '''Ra'''iffeisen-'''Bo'''erenleen'''bank''''', or '''Rabobank''' for short. The organisation chose [[Amsterdam]] to be its statutory headquarters due to its historical neutrality in relation to the founding organisations. From 1980 to 2015, the central organisation was referred to as Rabobank Nederland.

In 1980, Rabobank expanded its international activities as part of its mission to finance global agriculture. In 1990, it established a joint-venture bank in Indonesia by partnering with a local bank, Bank Duta, to form RabobankDuta. Bank Duta subsequently collapsed in the 1998 Asian financial crisis, and Rabobank bought Duta's share to operate solely as PT Bank Rabobank International Indonesia. In 1994, it purchased Primary Industry Bank of Australia (PIBA), which had operations in Australia and New Zealand, and renamed it Rabobank Australia Limited in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Rabobank: History |url=http://www.rabobank.com.au/About-Rabobank/Our-story/Pages/History.aspx |access-date=December 21, 2014 |website=Rabobank |archive-date=8 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608014258/http://www.rabobank.com.au/About-Rabobank/Our-story/Pages/History.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1997, it purchased New Zealand–based Wrightson Farmers Finance Limited and renamed it Rabobank New Zealand in 1999. Rabobank became a significant{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=December 2016}} lender to the rural sector in New Zealand with this purchase and used this as a base to expand its lending business further.

In Europe, Rabobank in 1992 purchased [[Allgemeine Deutsche Credit-Anstalt]], a German bank.<ref>{{cite web |website=ZBW Leibniz Information Centre for Economics |url=https://pm20.zbw.eu/folder/co/0415xx/041546/about.de.html |title=Allgemeine Deutsche Credit-Anstalt}}</ref>

===21st century===

In 2002, Rabobank launched a new internet only savings bank called [[#RaboDirect|Rabobank.be]]. A second online savings banks was launched in 2005 in Ireland under the name of [[#RaboDirect|RaboDirect]], and then as RaboPlus in New Zealand and two years later in Australia. After a small hiatus new online banks were opened in Poland (2011) and Germany (2012). The advertising campaigns used to promote the savings business in Ireland and New Zealand raised the profile of Rabobank generally in those countries resulting in an increase in not only its savings business but also in its lending businesses. In 2010, Rabobank decided to use the same brand name in Australia and New Zealand for the savings bank and replaced RaboPlus with RaboDirect in these countries. In 2014, Rabobank worked with Vasco, now [[OneSpan]], to create a new online authentication system using QR codes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rabobank introduces QR code-based online banking authentication |date = 19 September 2014|url=https://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=26473 |publisher=Finextra}}</ref>

Rabobank purchased Australian company Lend Lease Agro Business in 2003. In 2008, it expanded its operations in Indonesia by buying two retail banks, Bank Haga and Bank Hagakita.

In the [[United States]], Rabobank completed the acquisition of Mid-State Bank & Trust on May 1, 2007, which allows Rabo to expand its services to the [[Central Coast (California)|Central Coast]] region of [[California]], United States.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-05-01 |title=Rabobank Completes Acquisition of Mid-State Bank & Trust |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20070501005948/en/Rabobank-Completes-Acquisition-Mid-State-Bank-Trust |access-date=2020-04-09 |website=www.businesswire.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2010, it also acquired Pacific State Bank, expanding into the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley of California]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fujii |first=Reed |title=Pacific State Bank taken over |url=https://www.recordnet.com/article/20100821/a_biz/8210320 |access-date=2020-04-09 |website=recordnet.com |language=en}}</ref> Utrecht-America Holdings, Inc. and Rabobank N.A. operate as subsidiaries of the Rabobank Group in the United States. In 2019, it was announced that Rabobank sold its American retail business to [[Mechanics Bank]], with all Rabobank branches taking the Mechanics name. Rabobank will continue to do business in North America related to Food and Agriculture based-lending under its subsidiary Rabo AgriFinance.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Mechanics Banks more than doubles in size with Rabobank merger |work=Sacramento Business Journal |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2019/09/03/mechanics-banks-more-than-doubles-in-sizewith.html |access-date=13 Sep 2019}}</ref>

In June 2012, rating agency [[Moody's]] downgraded Rabobank's to Aa2 (previously Aaa), with a negative outlook. Due to a new rating methodology in November 2011 by rating agency [[Standard & Poor's]], the credit status was downgraded two steps from AAA to AA. In November 2014, S&P lowered the rating from AA− to A+ with a negative outlook. Rating agency [[Fitch Group|Fitch]] rates the credit status of the bank AA−, with a negative outlook.

As per the new strategy, Rabobank is planning to exit some markets. In September 2014, Rabobank sold [[BGZ Bank]] to [[BNP Paribas]] for $1.39 billion.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bnp-paribas-rabobank-idUSKBN0HA1ZW20140915 BNP completes purchase of Bank BGZ from Rabobank]. [[Reuters]], 17 September 2014</ref>

Unlike most major banks, Rabobank's central organisation was originally a [[subsidiary]] of the local branches. However, new banking regulations made a new arrangement necessary. In late 2015, on the recommendation of a specially-created Governance Committee, Rabobank's 106 cooperative banks voted unanimously to merge with Rabobank Nederland. The merger took effect on 1 January 2016. While the 106 Rabobanks still have considerable autonomy, the central organisation is now the parent body.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

A 2013 scandal resulted in a $1 billion fine for unscrupulous trading practices, which included the manipulation of [[LIBOR]] currency rates worldwide. Chief Executive Piet Moerland resigned immediately as a result.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sara Webb |date=29 October 2013 |title=Dutch Rabobank fined $1 billion over Libor scandal |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rabobank-libor-idUSBRE99S0L520131029 |work=Reuters}}</ref>

In December 2015, Rabobank announced to cut 9,000 jobs by 2018 (3,000 jobs by the end of 2016) and almost a fifth of its current workforce. The policy was to comply with the tougher Basel IV rulebook.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas Escritt and Toby Sterling |date=December 11, 2015 |title=Rabobank to cut 9,000 jobs and shed assets to boost profit |newspaper=Reuters |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-rabobank-cuts-idUKKBN0TS26F20151211|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304100844/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-rabobank-cuts-idUKKBN0TS26F20151211|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

By 2019, Rabobank had offices in 38 countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rabobank.com/en/about-rabobank/profile/who-we-are/index.html |title=Who we are |website=www.rabobank.com |access-date=July 19, 2019}}</ref>

==Organisation structure==
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2024}}
[[File:Rabobank cc.jpg|thumb|Branch of Rabobank in [[Amsterdam]]]]

The Rabobank Group consists of a network of local banks, Rabobank Nederland and several daughter organisations.

Previously, the local Rabobanks were the mother organisation of Rabobank Nederland, their central organisation. The local banks were facilitated by Rabobank Nederland to serve their customers, not the other way around as is often the case with traditional banking organisations. Employees of the group did not routinely speak of a headquarters but preferred to speak of Rabobank Nederland, which was their daughter organisation. In 2016, however, the local banks merged with Rabobank Nederland, while retaining significant independence.

Even before 2016, the central organisation occasionally overruled the autonomy of the local bank organisations. In accordance with Dutch regulations in the field of credit and financial services Rabobank Nederland oversees that the local banks maintain a required level of prudence and professionalism while selling financial products. This has grown to be especially important in view of international standards such as [[Sarbanes–Oxley Act]], [[Basel II]] and [[International Financial Reporting Standards|IFRS]]. This leads to a rather unusual phenomenon within international business: the mother companies and the much larger daughter are essentially forced to coexist in order to function properly. This has led to a very ambivalent relationship between the two over the years.

At the time of the merger there were five management instruments within Rabobank Nederland:
# ''Algemene Vergadering'' – general assembly. The boards of all local banks within the cooperation were represented there.
# ''De Centrale Kringvergadering'' – advisory board staffed by representatives of clusters of local banks.
# ''De Hoofddirectie'' – general management. Theoretically they were an autonomous management organ, but in practice, they had to pay 'serious consideration' to what the 4th organ; ''Raad van Beheer''; thought about the course of action for the organisation.
# ''Raad van Beheer'' – management council. An independent advisory council whose chairman also attended the meetings of ''De Hoofddirectie''.
# ''Raad van Toezicht'' – supervisory board

In 2002 this structure was simplified. The ''Raad van Beheer'' was disbanded. De ''Hoofddirectie'' received an integral authority over the banking business. It was also renamed to ''Raad van Bestuur'' or [[board of directors]]. They have an added task compared to a traditional board i.e., they are expected to look out for the specific interests of the members (local banks and their certificate holders). The ''Raad van Toezicht'' was renamed to [[county commission]] and now held an independent supervisory role. The chairman of this board also presides over the ''Centrale Kringvergadering''. The latter is the most distinguishing organ as compared to other financial institutions in the Netherlands and abroad.

==Market position==
[[File:Rabobank footprint 2010-05.svg|thumb|right|200px|Rabobank's former footprint within the United States, all of the banks in the United States operated by Rabobank were located in the state of [[California]]]]
Rabobank is traditionally a farmers' bank and it still holds an 85% to 90% market share in the agrarian sector in the Netherlands. Throughout the years, the company has also started targeting small and medium-sized companies. By the mid 1970s the market share in this sector reached some 30% and currently amounts to approximately 40%. In 1987, an important milestone was reached; the total outstanding loans in sectors other than agriculture exceeded those in the agricultural sector for the first time. By 2005 the agricultural credits amounted to some 8% of total outstanding credit.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Rabobank also holds some 40% of the total outstanding sums on Dutch savings accounts and they account for approximately 30% of all private consumer mortgages in the Netherlands.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

In the Netherlands, Rabobank is the third-largest retail bank by market share, and second largest by number of current accounts at 30%. [[ING Group]] is the largest with 40% of current accounts, followed by Rabobank (30%), [[ABN AMRO]] (20%), and others (10%).<ref>{{Cite web |last=The OECD Secretariat |date=June 4, 2007 |title=Review of Competition in the Dutch Retail Banking Sector |url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/16/54/39347699.pdf |publisher=OECD}}</ref>

The Rabobank Group currently consists of the following divisions:{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

* Rabobank Nederland – the facilitary and staff organisation that serves the local banks. It currently performs the following core activities:
** Market (staff) support for the domestic [[retail banking]] business
** Group functions i.e., ICT, Legal and other facilitary departments
** Wholesale banking and international rural and retail banking
* Local Banks – Approximately 89 cooperative local banks in the Netherlands
* Rabo Wholesale Rural & Retail – Rabobank's wholesale banking and investment division
* Rabo Vastgoed Groep – Project developer, real estate
* [[DLL Group|DLL]] (De Lage Landen) – [[vendor finance]], leasing and trade finance
* Rembrandt Fusies & Overnames – corporate finance
* Schretlen & Co – asset management, [[private banking]] sector
* Obvion – [[Mortgage loan|mortgage]] intermediary
* Rabobank Ireland plc
* Rabobank New Zealand Limited - a registered bank in New Zealand
* Rabo AgriFinance, headquartered in [[St Louis, Missouri]]
* [[ACC Loan Management]], Ireland
* Utrecht-America Holdings, Inc. - [[New York City]]-based U.S. financial [[holding company]]
* [[Rabo Mobiel]] – a [[mobile virtual network operator]] in the Netherlands (2005–2014) 
* Rabo Partnerships, with advisory services and minority participations in various international markets, including: [[Tanzania]], [[Zambia]], [[Malawi]], [[Mozambique]], [[Ecuador]], [[Brazil]] and [[Paraguay]].

== RaboDirect ==
'''RaboDirect''', formerly '''RaboPlus''' in some locations is the brand name for online-only services offered by Rabobank. ''RaboDirect'' operates in Belgium, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Germany offering [[savings account]]s, [[term deposit]]s and [[Investment management|managed funds]]. In Belgium it is known as Rabobank.be.

=== Ireland ===
{{Main|Rabobank (Ireland)}}

RaboDirect Ireland was an online savings bank.

In 2009, RaboDirect ran the marketing campaign that included TV commercials which featured staff confessing truths about themselves, and a [[microsite]] called Truthbank<ref>{{Cite web |title=Truthbank – Got something on your mind? |url=http://www.truthbank.ie |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109132455/http://www.truthbank.ie/ |archive-date=9 January 2014 |access-date=5 December 2016 |website=truthbank.ie}}</ref> where customers could "confess" their own truths.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 June 2015 |title=€1m Rabodirect campaign focuses on truth - BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP |url=http://www.businessandleadership.com/news/article/12672/marketing/1m-rabodirect-campaign-focuses-on-truth |access-date=5 December 2016 |website=businessandleadership.com}}</ref>

RaboDirect was the sponsor of [[rugby union]]'s [[Pro14|Pro12]] from the [[2011–12 Pro12|2011-12]] season until [[2013–14 Pro12|2013–14]], it featured teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The deal was announced in June 2011, during which time the league was known as the RaboDirect Pro12.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 June 2011 |title=Celtic League unveils new sponsor RaboDirect |work=BBC Sport |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/13693548.stm |access-date=8 June 2011}}</ref>

On 21 February RaboDirect announced that it would be closing down its Irish operations from 16 May 2018, with the loss of 31 jobs.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Paul|first=Mark|title=RaboDirect to quit Irish market in May|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/rabodirect-to-quit-irish-market-in-may-1.3400140|access-date=2021-10-28|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Walsh|first=John|title=Rabodirect to shutter entire Irish operation|newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/rabodirect-to-shutter-entire-irish-operation-smq6ktkmg|access-date=2021-10-28|issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

=== New Zealand ===
{{Main|Rabobank New Zealand}}
RaboDirect, originally known as RaboPlus, was launched in February 2006 and was at the time only bank in New Zealand whose parent company was rated AAA by [[Standard & Poor's]] (the credit rating has since been downgraded and as of October 2015 is A).<ref name="interestCreditRating">{{Cite web |last=Gareth Vaughan |title=Rabobank NZ credit rating downgraded by S&P after parental guarantee expires, now down 5 notches in 4 years |date=May 2015 |url=http://www.interest.co.nz/bonds/75279/rabobank-nz-credit-rating-downgraded-sp-after-parental-guarantee-expires-now-down-5 |access-date=2015-10-30 |publisher=Interest.co.nz}}</ref>

=== Australia ===
On 23 May 2007, Rabobank opened a RaboPlus Internet bank in Australia. On 20 May 2010, the services were rebranded to RaboDirect. RaboDirect is the major partner of the [[Melbourne Rebels]] [[Super Rugby]] side. By 2011 over $6 billion had been gathered in deposits.

=== Germany ===
On 20 June 2012, Rabobank opened a RaboDirect in Germany.<ref>[[:de:Rabobank#RaboDirect|RaboDirect on german Wikipedia]]</ref>{{Better source needed|date=November 2015|reason=[[WP:CIRCULAR]]}} Rabobank has had a presence in Germany since 1984. It has operated in the field of corporate finance and has been primarily active in the food and agriculture sector in the country.

=== Poland ===
Rabobank operated a direct bank in Poland, but under the Bank BGZ operation and using the name "BGZ Optima". The Polish business including BGZ Optima was subsequently sold to French bank [[BNP Paribas]] in December 2013 for around $1.4 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marcin Goclowski |date=5 December 2013 |title=BNP Paribas agrees to buy Polish Rabobank unit for $1.4 billion |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-bgz-idUSBRE9B406T20131205}}</ref>

== Naming rights ==
Rabobank has naming rights to several venues and organizations, including:
* Rabobank Stadium, [[Salinas, California|Salinas]], California<ref>{{Cite web |title=Salinas' Rabobank Stadium opens for the football season with the little ones |url=http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_24041006/salinas-rabobank-stadium-opens-little-ones |access-date=7 October 2013 |archive-date=3 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103225721/http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_24041006/salinas-rabobank-stadium-opens-little-ones |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Rabobank Development Team]], cycling team
* [[Rabobank-Liv/giant]], cycling team
* [[Rabobank Bestuurscentrum]], skyscraper, [[Utrecht]]

==Controversies==

=== Libor scandal ===
The major investment banks in [[London]] report daily the interest on short-term loans that they charge each other. This concerns short-term interest periods from 1 day to 1 year. When it emerged that some banks had deliberately stated this interest rate too high or too low since 1991, the [[London Interbank Offered Rate|Libor scandal]] was born. Because the Libor interest rate is also used in the [[United States]] to calculate the price of derivatives, American regulators also took action. [[Barclays]] and [[UBS]] were the first two participants, settling for $460 million and $1,500 million respectively. [[Royal Bank of Scotland|RBS]] was fined $612 million.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21348719 'Libor scandal: RBS fined £390m'], ''BBC News'', 6 februari 2013, last accessed 30 October 2013.</ref>
On 29 October 2013 was published that the Rabobank had reached an agreement with [[De Nederlandsche Bank]] (DNB), the Dutch Justice Department (OM), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the United States, the [[United States Department of Justice]] (DOJ) and the Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA). This is in connection with their investigations into Rabobank's submission procedures with regard to the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate ([[Euribor]]) in the past. Rabobank agreed to pay settlement amounts to OM, FCA, CFTC and DOJ totalling approximately EUR 774 million.<ref>[https://www.rabobank.com/nl/float/libor/index.html 'Rabobank treft schikking in Libor- en Euriboronderzoeken (Dutch)']</ref> Of this, 70 million euros went to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service. In return, no criminal investigation followed. The Dutch Central Bank also took measures. CEO [[Piet Moerland]] resigned early.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/business/dealbook/convictions-of-2-former-traders-in-libor-scandal-are-dismissed.html' Rabobank admitted in October 2013, executive also immediately stepped down.']</ref><ref>[http://www.dnb.nl/nieuws/nieuwsoverzicht-en-archief/persberichten-2013/dnb298704.jsp 'DNB neemt maatregelen bij Rabobank wegens Libor affaire (Dutch)'], ''De Nederlandsche Bank'', 29 oktober 2013.</ref><ref>[https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/6752-13 'CFTC: Rabobank to Pay $475 Million Penalty to Settle Manipulation and False Reporting Charges Related to LIBOR and Euribor']</ref><ref>{{YouTube|id=s2xsXrw1CGc|Rabobank Chairman Piet Moerland resigns immediately after Libor settlement}}</ref>

===Money laundering===
In February 2018, Rabobank reached a settlement with the [[United States Department of Justice]] for 298 million euros. The bank did not have its internal controls in order, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in drug money being laundered through the American Rabobank subsidiary RNA in California.<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/rabobank-na-pleads-guilty-agrees-pay-over-360-million Rabobank NA pleads guilty and agrees to pay over 360 million]</ref>

=== Deforestation ===
The ''Bankrolling Ecosystem Destruction'' report<ref>[https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-netherlands-stateless/2024/03/6d09112e-gp_eudr_full-report_english.pdf  'Bankrolling ecosystem destruction - The EU must stop the cash flow to businesses destroying nature']</ref>  from a coalition of civil society organizations shows how much money is flowing from EU-based financial institutions to sectors that pose a risk to ecosystems, including $30.9 million from Rabobank.<ref>[https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/66018/the-financial-sector-is-undermining-the-eus-efforts-to-tackle-nature-destruction/  'The financial sector is undermining the EU's efforts to tackle nature destruction']</ref> The report highlights the importance of EU regulation of the financial sector to align financing with global 1.5&nbsp;°C and biodiversity targets.

Rabobank has received criticism because the bank was involved in financing hundreds of farmers who committed illegal [[deforestation]] in Brazil.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://impact-investor.com/fd-rabobank-financed-hundreds-of-illegal-deforesters-in-brazil/ | title=FD: Rabobank financed hundreds of illegal deforesters in Brazil | website=impact-investor.com | date=2023-11-09 | author1=Jasper Been | author2=Jeroen Groot}}</ref> This is contrary to the official policy as communicated by the bank.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://media.rabobank.com/m/32b268325c5dd9c4/original/Deforestation-and-land-conversion-policy-Rabobank-Group.pdf | title=Deforestation and land conversion policy Rabobank Group | date=February 2025 | publisher=Rabobank}}</ref> Research<ref>[https://www.profundo.nl/download/e70522eb-profundo-rabobank-brazil-final-july2023 '€ 0.7 billion in profits, € 66 billion in damages - Rabobank's destructive financing of deforestation in Brazil'], ''Profundo'', 5 juli 2023</ref> links Rabobank's investments to the loss of approximately 390,000 ha of Amazon or Cerrado forest (2000–2022).<ref>[https://specials.fd.nl/rabobank-en-de-ontbossers?auth=failed 'Dutch paper FD: Rabobank en de ontbossers']</ref><ref>[https://forestsandfinance.org/news/rabobank-and-the-deforesters/ 'Rabobank and the deforesters']</ref><ref>[https://nltimes.nl/2023/11/03/rabobank-funding-deforestation-projects-brazil-report'NL Times: Rabobank funding deforestation projects Brazil-report']{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Rabobank has been placed on the list of major polluters of the Dutch NGO [[Milieudefensie]] because the bank would have invested more than 1.4 billion euros in companies involved in deforestation in the period from 2015 to 2022.<ref>[https://milieudefensie.nl/actueel/dit-is-waarom-rabobank-op-onze-lijst-van-grote-vervuilers-staat|titel='(text in Dutch) dit is waarom rabobank op onze lijst van grote vervuilers staat ]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Sustainability== 
Rabobank states that it wants to contribute to the sustainable development of society in an economic, social and ecological sense.<ref>[https://www.banktrack.org/download/climate_change_approach_current_position_and_goals/210125_climatechangecommittmentsept2020.pdf 'Rabobank climate approach 2020']</ref> This is enshrined, among other things, in the Code of Conduct and in general external and internal principles for the provision of services. Corporate social responsibility is a basic principle in Rabobank's core activities. Rabobank continues to finance global meat and dairy corporations and thus drives climate change and deforestation.<ref>[https://sentientmedia.org/this-bank-is-financing-the-meat-industrys-biggest-emitters/ 'Rabobank is financing the meat industrys biggest emitters']</ref>

===Climate=== 
In contrast to the positive publicity from Rabobank, there is criticism from society about its role in the Dutch nitrogen crisis.<ref>[https://sentientmedia.org/what-the-media-missed-covering-dutch-livestock-farmer-protests/ 'background on the Dutch farmer protests']</ref> For example, the World Wildlife Fund (NL) wrote in an open letter that Rabobank must take its responsibility in realizing an agricultural transition to improve nature, the living environment and the agricultural sector.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.wwf.nl/wat-we-doen/actueel/nieuws/open-brief-rabobank | title=Open brief aan de Rabobank | language=nl | trans-title=Open letter to Rabobank | author=Kirsten Schuijt | date=2022-07-22}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nu.nl/economie/6213649/rabobank-kijkt-met-gemengde-gevoelens-terug-op-rol-in-stikstofcrisis.html 'Nu: Rabobank looks back with mixed feelings on role in Nitrogen Crisis (Dutch)']</ref> The House of Representatives asked the cabinet in a motion to investigate whether banks such as Rabobank could be forced to contribute to solving the nitrogen crisis.<ref>[https://nos.nl/artikelen/2437793-rabobank-over-rol-nitrostofcrisis-zouden-nu-anders-handelen 'NOS: Rabobank on their role of the nitrogen crisis: would act differently now (Dutch)']</ref>

The bank refused loans to projects with alternative agricultural methods, which led to forced expansion of Dutch livestock farms. Only about 3% of the outstanding 30 billion in the agricultural sector belongs to organically operating companies,<ref>[https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/in-de-keuken-bij-de-rabobank-over-hun-rol-in-de-voedselcrisis 'Rabobank and its role in the foodcrisis (Dutch)']</ref> farmers receive little or no support in the transition to more sustainable agriculture and livestock farming.<ref>[https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2022/07/15/rabobank-doet-te-weinig-voor-vergroenende-boer-a4136600 'NRC: Rabobank is doing too little for change to biological farming (Dutch)']</ref> Rabobank still invests in expensive techniques, not in solving but in technically mitigating the negative consequences of mass livestock farming and economies of scale.<ref>[https://www.duurzaam-ondernemen.nl/frieslandcampina-rabobank-en-lely-starten-pilot-voor-stikstofreductie// 'frieslandcampina rabobank and lely start pilot for nitrogen reduction (Dutch)']</ref>

[[Extinction Rebellion]] and [[Greenpeace]] issued an ultimatum to Rabobank in 2023 to stop financing industrial agriculture, to which the bank did not respond. A mass protest followed in which activists blocked the head office in Utrecht.<ref>[https://www.greenpeace.org/nl/natuur/60813/massa-actie-bij-rabobank-stop-verwoesten-start-vergoeden/ 'mass action- at Rabobank, stop destroying, start compensating (Dutch)']</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of European cooperative banks]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Banks}}
{{Commons category|Rabobank}}
* [http://www.rabobank.com/ Rabobank Group homepage]

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{{Members of Euro Banking Association}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Banking in Australia}}

[[Category:Rabobank| ]]
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[[Category:Dutch companies established in 1972]]