News Corona
Action against stopping interest on Rabobank certificate
Due to the corona crisis, the interest payment on Rabobank Certificates has been discontinued, a product that many (discontinued) farmers also own. Investor platform IEX believes, however, that Rabobank has misinterpreted the appeal of the European Central Bank (ECB) and has therefore launched an action.
At the end of March, Rabobank took the decision not to pay any interest of 1% on the certificates issued until at least 6,5 October. This decision was taken after an appeal from the ECB and the Nederlansche Bank, which believe that in this time of crisis, banks should better lend this money in order to keep the economy going. ING and ABN Amro also decided not to pay a dividend for the time being.
Interest is not a dividend
The shoe pinches on this point, because the ECB asked banks in Europe not to pay dividends. According to IEX, this does not relate to the interest payment on depositary receipts that Rabobank has outstanding, because according to the letter of the law this is not a dividend.
The investor platform has calculated that the damage for holders of these member certificates amounts to € 1,2 billion. There is therefore a lot of misunderstanding among the depositary receipt holders. IEX has launched an action to protest the bank's decision. In the meantime, more than 3.500 certificate holders have already registered with the investor platform reported.
Reaction Rabobank
When asked, Rabobank says that they do not recognize themselves in the criticism of IEX. The bank is of the opinion that the temporary suspension of the interest payment to the depository receipt holders complies with the ECB's recommendation.
Wouter Job
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