Rabobank posts €2.69bn profit in first half of 2025

Rabobank reported a net result of €2,694 million for the first half of 2025, underpinned by resilient income, stable costs, and historically low loan impairment charges.

The cooperative bank, which serves customers globally across Dutch retail banking, wholesale & rural, and leasing, achieved loan growth of €12 billion (adjusted for foreign exchange effects) and welcomed €11 billion in new deposits. More than 100,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) received Rabobank support to expand their businesses, underlining the group’s role in fuelling economic activity.

Net profit dipped slightly from €2,818 million in the first half of 2024, which Chair of the Managing Board Stefaan Decraene attributed to the impact of lower interest rates.

“Within Domestic Retail Banking (DRB) margins on deposits were lower, which was partly off-set by increased deposit volumes, totalling EUR 355 (Dec 2024: 341) billion, and ongoing growth of our loan portfolio by EUR 5.6 billion, of which our mortgage portfolio grew by EUR 3.6 billion and our business loan portfolio by EUR 2.0 billion. Meanwhile at constant exchange rates Wholesale & Rural (W&R) realized a loan growth of EUR 4.6 billion and our lease portfolio grew fractionally since the beginning of this year. However, foreign exchange (FX) effects negatively impacted the euro equivalent amounts of these portfolios,” he added.

Decraene noted that global tensions, from armed conflicts to trade disputes and political gridlock in the Netherlands, have made resilience a strategic imperative. “In these uncertain times being resilient has become even more important. As a cooperative bank we can make a difference by being a stable partner for our customers, members and society,” he said.

Rabobank’s capital position strengthened significantly, with the CET1 ratio rising to 19.9% from 16.9% at year-end 2024, placing it among Europe’s best-capitalised banks. The improvement was driven by capital increases and a reduction in risk-weighted assets following the January 2025 implementation of the revised European capital regulation (CRR3).

Operating expenses ticked up just 1% as lower average staffing levels were balanced by wage increases. Impairment charges on financial assets fell sharply to €136 million, down from €279 million in the same period last year.