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In December 2006, Rabobank took over a number of Rabo Real Estate Group’s divisions, thus establishing Rabo Real Estate Group. Bouwfonds Property Development integrated with Rabo Vastgoed and was named Rabo Bouwfonds Development. Bouwfonds corporate social responsibility always focuses on the quality of facilities for living, working, shopping and recreation. Rabo Bouwfonds Development’s expertise is across the board: both small-scale and large-scale, multi-use and monofunctional, in residential and commercial real estate, inner-city and area development.
Bouwfonds Asset Management, the most recent pillar of the organisation, has become a specialist in the area of real estate investment. From Hoevelaken and Berlin, Bouwfonds Asset Management serves private and corporate investors throughout Europe. Its unique combination of knowledge of real estate and financial expertise has produced real estate funds that are both innovative and successful.
Bouwfonds Public Fund Management makes a significant contribution towards the development and financing of social housing. Bouwfonds Public Fund Management is an independent and reliable fund manager of four funds in the fields of development of natural areas, monuments, urban renewal and industrial heritage in the Netherlands. Innovative and professional, creative and enterprising, Bouwfonds Public Fund Management is the link between public and private financing.
Real estate financing within Rabo Real Estate Group is carried out by FGH Bank and its brands De Nederlandse Hypotheekbank and De Rijnlandse Bank. FGH’s history began in 1890.
On 16 October 1890, a number of dignitaries from the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen founded the Friesch-Groningsche Hypotheekbank N.V. in Groningen. The aim of the new bank was to provide mortgages to farmers who wanted to buy a small farm. In the first decade of the nineteenth century, FGH Bank was mainly operational in the north of the Netherlands. The bank successfully grew and steadily broadened its horizons. Its merger in 1937 with the Nederlandsche Hypotheekbank, which at the time belonged to FGH Group, actually established the largest combination in the Netherlands. In the same year, the main office was relocated to Amsterdam and activities were initiated in other parts in the Netherlands.
In the 1950s, five of the (mortgage) banks were taken over. The 60s and 70s were marked by diversification in all areas of real estate, including development, construction and exploitation. To this end, a number of specialist companies were taken over and there was tremendous growth within FGH Group. In 1983, the main office relocated to Utrecht. During the ’80s depression, when confidence in mortgage banks in general waned, FGH Group sought to join a large, steady, financial institution. In 1987, Aegon acquired almost all shares in FGH Bank. The non-core activities were successfully sold, terminated or privatised. FGH Bank returned to doing what it did best: mortgage financing for commercial real estate. Not as a traditional mortgage bank, but as a specialised real estate bank. As well as focusing on the core business, ‘FGH Hypotheekbank’ (FGH mortgage bank) changed its name to ‘FGH Bank N.V., de vastgoedbank’ (FGH Bank N.V., the real estate bank). Since 1 January 1992, FGH Bank has enjoyed general bank status, and on 24 October 2003, it became part of the largest financial services provider in the Netherlands: Rabobank. Since the end of 2006, FGH Bank has been part of the real estate division of Rabobank: Rabo Real Estate Group.
FGH Bank is the specialist in commercial real estate financing and offers a complete package of products and services in this field. Its staff has both a passion for real estate and a thorough knowledge of the field.
Collaboration between the divisions is the key to Rabo Real Estate Group's strength. An extensive knowledge of real estate, together with its financial strength, allows Rabo Real Estate Group to participate in long-term projects and joint ventures.
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