Rabobank chief says 2014 earnings ‘not unsatisfactory’

RabobankRabobank booked net profit of €1.8bn last year, down over 8% on 2013, the bank said on Thursday.

New chief executive Wiebe Draaijer described the results as ‘not unsatisfactory’. However, ‘for the future, they are still not sufficient,’ he said in a statement.

The bank’s most important task for 2015 is ‘regaining confidence and ensuring we can meet the requirements that will be placed on us in the coming years,’ he said.

Rabobank has paid €774m in out of court settlements for its role in the Libor scandal, which cost the bank’s chief executive Piet Moorland and department head Sipko Schat their jobs. Six former Rabobank staffers are also facing charges in connection with the case.

The cooperative bank has also been cutting costs. It reduced its workforce by 15% last year, meaning a loss of 3,000 jobs. More jobs will go this year and the bank is shutting dozens of branch offices as customers shift to online services.

In particular, Rabobank customers made extra repayments on their mortgages amounting to €4bn, a record amount, the bank said.

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