Creating positive social change through innovation

Rabobank is generating positive social change in the agri-food and energy sectors by doubling down on its commitment to innovation

Rewind for a moment, if you will, to 1898 – you’ll find that the world is a very different place. The US president is William McKinley; in England, Queen Victoria is into the last few years of her reign; and in the Netherlands, her third cousin, Wilhelmina, is embarking on what would eventually become a near-60-year spell on the throne.

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands that same year, two Dutch banking cooperatives were inaugurated that would go on to form the backbone of one of the world’s largest financial institutions – one that, this year, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. Raiffeisen-Bank was founded in Utrecht and Boerenleenbank was founded in Eindhoven, originally acting as banking cooperatives to serve local farming communities.

Nearly 75 years later, the two would merge, taking the first two letters of their respective names to create a brand that is still familiar to this day: Rabobank.

When Bart Leurs, Rabobank’s current Chief Innovation and Technology Officer, dials in from his home office to talk about the company’s innovation strategy, there’s a small parallel with the bank’s agri-heritage: he is speaking from Utrecht, where he lives with his family – and where Raiffeisen-Bank began its journey exactly 125 years ago.

Leurs is a seasoned banking executive who joined Rabobank in 2016, first serving as Head of FinTech & Innovation before four years as Chief Digital Transformation Officer. He has held his current role since September 2021. Prior to that, he spent almost two decades at ING, where he spent two years as Head of Strategy for ING Direct, followed by a number of senior positions within the company in Canada, Germany, and Belgium.

According to Leurs, that experience overseas has given him a deeper appreciation for the financial challenges in existence around the world, as well as an understanding of Rabobank’s reputation abroad.

“It really broadens your perspective of the world,” he tells FinTech Magazine. “It has really enriched my work and my life, in general, and given me new inspiration thanks to the different cultures and the different ways that people look at life.”

What does Rabobank look like today?

125 years after its founding, Rabobank is an immense organisation with international reach. Rabobank is one of the leading banks in the Netherlands with a focus on mortgages and SME lending. In 50 years, the number of local led Rabobanks reduced considerably, from 1,192 independent local member banks in 1972 to one Rabobank with 78 regional areas today.

Globally, Rabobank’s business is focused on being a food and agri bank, true to its roots as a farmers’ banking cooperative.

As such, it’s heavily active in North America, South America, and Australia –parts of the world where food and crop production make up vital parts of the economy. But Rabobank finances all players throughout the entire food value chain, from farmers at one end to retailers at the other.

Rabobank’s balance sheet globally is more than €600bn and, last year, the bank made almost €2.8bn in profit from €12bn’s worth of revenue.

Despite its massive scale, Rabobank hasn’t allowed its growth to diminish its cooperative heritage or dampened its core values; in fact, the business still operates with much the same mindset today as it did over 100 years ago.

“The idea behind the cooperative was to fix things together that you cannot fix alone,” Leurs explains. “At that time, it was bigger farmers helping smaller farmers to access credit so they could build and grow their business. Of course, we have grown to be a much bigger bank that’s not only focused on food and agri anymore, but that has broadened its scope and its activities. But the mentality and culture of a cooperative –of fixing things together – still exists within the organisation.”

In part, he credits Rabobank’s success to its operating model, which is unique among global institutions of this size. As a cooperative, Rabobank exists for the mutual benefit of its members. Unlike listed companies, this means that it’s able to take

Bart Leurs

TITLE: CHIEF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

INDUSTRY: BANKING

LOCATION: NETHERLANDS

Executive Bio

Bart Leurs, Rabobank’s current Chief Innovation and Technology Officer (CITO), joined Rabobank in 2016, first serving as Head of FinTech & Innovation before four years as Chief Digital Transformation Officer. As CITO, Bart is leading the change to continuously improve the effectiveness of the bank's 'Tech engine' and is driving the organisation to innovate and make use of the possibilities of Tech & Data. He has held his current role since September 2021. Bart previously worked at ING, leading various business departments. He has over 20 years of experience conceiving and delivering new and innovative digital services at banks.

a more strategic long-term approach rather than focusing on just short-term profits. You occasionally see that distinction in family-run businesses as well, Leurs points out.

Over time, the cooperative’s main priorities have evolved, even while its focus on food and agri have remained the same. Today, Rabobank has its eyes firmly set on deepset social issues that affect all of society – including food security and energy security.

How can banking have a positive impact on society?

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food security remains one of the most pressing concerns in today’s world. Its latest update, published at the end of 2022, lays bare the issues facing the global food supply chain:

“Malnutrition in all its forms remains a challenge, and child malnutrition, in particular, is expected to be higher due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the FAO writes.

The report continues: “Climate change poses the greatest threat to rural small-scale producers, particularly poor and vulnerable communities. This pressure comes through increasingly frequent extreme weather events such as droughts, storms, and floods, as well as gradual changes such as shorter rainy seasons, delayed onset of rain, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers.”

Facing this complex combination of risk factors, it’s clear to see why food producers and other stakeholders within the food supply chain need financing from a reliable partner like Rabobank. “We are the biggest bank around the world in food and agri, and we deal with all the players in the food value chain – from the farmer up to Walmart,” Leurs says. “We see that, with a growing population plus issues around sustainability and being able to feed the world within the bounds of the planet, there’s really a role for us as a bank.”

Part of Rabobank’s role in that mission is supporting the food producers it works with to be able to play their part in the fight against climate change, and, in particular, stick to the Paris Accord goal of keeping global warming below +1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. As well as providing financing and knowhow, Rabobank also encourages companies to play their role in the green transition by nurturing accelerated innovation.