Rabobank Group has leading positions in many sectors of the Dutch financial services market. Rabobank traditionally has strong ties with the food & agri sector. Despite the changing market conditions, the local Rabobanks maintained a market share of 84% (84%) in the agricultural sector. In addition, Rabobank Group has a strong presence in the savings market, the mortgages market and among small and medium-sized enterprises in the Netherlands.
In 2007, the local Rabobanks and Obvion succeeded in strengthening their positions in the mortgages market further. Rabobank Group's mortgages market share grew from 26% to 28%. The market share of the local Rabobanks grew by 2.1 percentage points, to 22.4%. Obvion, the mortgage lender for the broker channel, saw its market share rise by 0.1 percentage points to 5.3%. Early in 2007, Rabobank introduced the Rabo KlimaatHypotheek. Through interest rate discounts, this mortgage encourages sustainable investments in owner-occupied houses.
Many new clients opened savings accounts with a local Rabobank in the year under review. Among other factors, this enabled Rabobank Group to increase its market share in the savings market from 39% to 41%. The savings market share of the local Rabobanks grew by 1.2 percentage points to 38.6%. Robeco's savings bank Roparco saw its market share rise as well. At 31 December 2007, Roparco had a 2.1% market share, 0.2 percentage points higher than a year ago. The number of SME clients at the local Rabobanks grew to 599,000 in the year under review and the SME market share, as measured by TNS NIPO, was stable at 38% (38%). Traditionally, the local Rabobanks have had a strong presence in rural areas. In order to further strengthen Rabobank Group's position in the Netherlands, a stronger position in urban areas is called for. Rabobank Group's share of the SME market in the cities was 27%. Rabobank offers several supporting facilities to start-ups. Because the local Rabobanks invest in start-up enterprises - with time, money and attention - they succeeded in strengthening their leading position in this market. Rabobank Group's share in the start-up market rose from 33% to 38%.
