Rabobank certificate holders have voted overwhelmingly to change the bank’s cooperative model by launching its membership certificates on the stock exchange.

This means non-members will also be able to buy the certificates – special bonds issued by the bank on its own capital and providing a high interest rate of 5%.

Financial director Bert Bruggink told the Financieele Dagblad in December he estimates the initial price will be around €25.

Unique

The bank has been forced into the move because so many members have sold their certificates over the past few months. The value of certificates held by members has fallen from €6.9bn a year ago to €5.9bn.

The unrest among members is the result of the Rabobank’s involvement in the Libor fixing scandal for which it was fined a total of €774m. Rabobank admitted 30 staff were involved in manipulating interest rates between 2005 and 2011.