Rabobank to cut 9,000 jobs and shed assets to boost profit
Baku, December 11, AZERTAC
Dutch cooperative bank Rabobank [RABO.UL] plans to lay off nearly a fifth of its workforce to boost profit and prepare for tougher European banking guidelines, it said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The bank said it would shed 9,000 of its 47,000 staff by 2018 and would cut 150 billion euros ($164.7 billion) worth of assets from its balance sheet by 2020, to comply with a rulebook known as Basel IV intended to help make banks more resilient to economic and market shocks.
The moves are part of a strategic plan in the works since Chief Executive Wiebe Draijer was appointed in October 2014. The bank is refocusing on its roots in agricultural lending and will reduce mortgage and commercial lending.
"The transformation that we are presenting today is necessary ... for a healthy future for the bank," Draijer said. "To remain a rock solid bank, Rabobank will strive to improve operating profits by 2.1 billion euros in 2020.
"We'll do that partly by increasing profits, and partly by cutting costs ... We realize this is not easy."
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