90-482: Wilmar International Limited ( simplified Chinese : 丰益国际 ; traditional Chinese : 豐益國際 ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : Hong-ek Kok-chè ) is a Singaporean food processing and investment holding company with more than 300 subsidiary companies. Founded in 1991, it is one of Asia's leading agribusiness groups alongside the COFCO Group . It ranks amongst the largest listed companies by market capitalisation on
180-590: A Protestant background. In the past the Netherlands underwent a process of pillarisation (Dutch: verzuiling ), which in practice meant that members of different religious congregations and political movements essentially lived side by side, without contact between the two. A consequence of this pillarisation was that many villages hosted not one but two local banks, one each for Catholics and Protestants. The close-knit community banking that resulted helped these banks to better control their risks. Consequently, when
270-488: A No Deforestation, No Peat & No Exploitation Policy (NDPE policy) for both its own operations and third party suppliers. It promised to stop buying from suppliers who cleared forest, drained peat land, or exploited locals. This was lauded as a transformational step towards responsible and sustainable palm oil development. Preliminary analysis estimated that Wilmar's commitment would eliminate more than 1.5Gt CO 2 emissions in total between 2016 and 2020. In 2015, Wilmar won
360-857: A RaboDirect in Germany. Rabobank has had a presence in Germany since 1984. It has operated in the field of corporate finance and has been primarily active in the food and agriculture sector in the country. Rabobank operated a direct bank in Poland, but under the Bank BGZ operation and using the name "BGZ Optima". The Polish business including BGZ Optima was subsequently sold to French bank BNP Paribas in December 2013 for around $ 1.4 billion. Rabobank has naming rights to several venues and organizations, including: The major investment banks in London report daily
450-507: A central organisation (Rabobank Nederland), and many specialised international offices and subsidiaries . Food and agribusiness constitute the primary international focus of the Rabobank Group. Rabobank is the second-largest bank in the Netherlands in terms of total assets. In terms of Tier 1 capital , the organisation is among the 50 largest financial institutions in the world. As of 2022, total assets amount to €628 billion with
540-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
630-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
720-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
810-543: A further tightening of the bonds between the two: In 1972, the two organisations merged to form Coöperatieve Centrale Ra iffeisen- Bo erenleen bank , or Rabobank for short. The organisation chose Amsterdam to be its statutory headquarters due to its historical neutrality in relation to the founding organisations. From 1980 to 2015, the central organisation was referred to as Rabobank Nederland. In 1980, Rabobank expanded its international activities as part of its mission to finance global agriculture. In 1990, it established
900-437: A headquarters but preferred to speak of Rabobank Nederland, which was their daughter organisation. In 2016, however, the local banks merged with Rabobank Nederland, while retaining significant independence. Even before 2016, the central organisation occasionally overruled the autonomy of the local bank organisations. In accordance with Dutch regulations in the field of credit and financial services Rabobank Nederland oversees that
990-681: A joint-venture bank in Indonesia by partnering with a local bank, Bank Duta, to form RabobankDuta. Bank Duta subsequently collapsed in the 1998 Asian financial crisis, and Rabobank bought Duta's share to operate solely as PT Bank Rabobank International Indonesia. In 1994, it purchased Primary Industry Bank of Australia (PIBA), which had operations in Australia and New Zealand, and renamed it Rabobank Australia Limited in 2003. In 1997, it purchased New Zealand–based Wrightson Farmers Finance Limited and renamed it Rabobank New Zealand in 1999. Rabobank became
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#17327929626211080-958: A multinational workforce of more than 100,000 people. Wilmar's merchandising and processing segment encompasses merchandising of palm oil and laurics -related products, operations of palm oil processing and refinery plants and crushing, further processing and refining of a range of edible oils, oilseeds , grains and soybean . Its consumer products include edible oils, rice, flour and noodles in China, Indonesia, Vietnam and India. Its plantation and palm oil mills segment engages in oil palm cultivation and milling . Wilmar has come under criticism for its exploitation of child labour and slave labour , as well as unsafe working conditions on its plantations amidst other worker mistreatment incidents. The company has also been exposed for its environmentally degrading practices, and forced displacement of poor populations, amongst other unethical behaviours. Unilever
1170-514: A net profit of €2.7 billion. Rabobank has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervision in late 2014, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the European Central Bank . Rooted in agriculture , Rabobank is set up as a federation of local credit unions that offer services to the local markets. The bank was rooted in the ideas of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen ,
1260-411: A network of local banks, Rabobank Nederland and several daughter organisations. Previously, the local Rabobanks were the mother organisation of Rabobank Nederland, their central organisation. The local banks were facilitated by Rabobank Nederland to serve their customers, not the other way around as is often the case with traditional banking organisations. Employees of the group did not routinely speak of
1350-442: A new arrangement necessary. In late 2015, on the recommendation of a specially-created Governance Committee, Rabobank's 106 cooperative banks voted unanimously to merge with Rabobank Nederland. The merger took effect on 1 January 2016. While the 106 Rabobanks still have considerable autonomy, the central organisation is now the parent body. A 2013 scandal resulted in a $ 1 billion fine for unscrupulous trading practices, which included
1440-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
1530-573: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
1620-646: A report published by the WWF which documented that Wilmar (as well as the Indonesian company Asian Agri ) were purchasing palm oil fruit which was grown illegally in Tesso Nilo National Park , Sumatra. According to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil , both Wilmar and Asian Agri took immediate action to stop this illegal sourcing. In October 2015, Wilmar and Sinarmas, reportedly involved with
1710-461: A risk to ecosystems, including $ 30.9 million from Rabobank. The report highlights the importance of EU regulation of the financial sector to align financing with global 1.5°C and biodiversity targets. Rabobank has received criticism because the bank was involved in financing hundreds of farmers who committed illegal deforestation in Brazil. This is contrary to the official policy as communicated by
1800-664: A settlement with the United States Department of Justice for 298 million euros. The bank did not have its internal controls in order, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in drug money being laundered through the American Rabobank subsidiary RNA in California. The Bankrolling Ecosystem Destruction report from a coalition of civil society organizations shows how much money is flowing from EU-based financial institutions to sectors that pose
1890-603: A significant lender to the rural sector in New Zealand with this purchase and used this as a base to expand its lending business further. In Europe, Rabobank in 1992 purchased Allgemeine Deutsche Credit-Anstalt , a German bank. In 2002, Rabobank launched a new internet only savings bank called Rabobank.be . A second online savings banks was launched in 2005 in Ireland under the name of RaboDirect , and then as RaboPlus in New Zealand and two years later in Australia. After
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#17327929626211980-410: A small hiatus new online banks were opened in Poland (2011) and Germany (2012). The advertising campaigns used to promote the savings business in Ireland and New Zealand raised the profile of Rabobank generally in those countries resulting in an increase in not only its savings business but also in its lending businesses. In 2010, Rabobank decided to use the same brand name in Australia and New Zealand for
2070-495: A traditional board i.e., they are expected to look out for the specific interests of the members (local banks and their certificate holders). The Raad van Toezicht was renamed to county commission and now held an independent supervisory role. The chairman of this board also presides over the Centrale Kringvergadering . The latter is the most distinguishing organ as compared to other financial institutions in
2160-489: A very ambivalent relationship between the two over the years. At the time of the merger there were five management instruments within Rabobank Nederland: In 2002 this structure was simplified. The Raad van Beheer was disbanded. De Hoofddirectie received an integral authority over the banking business. It was also renamed to Raad van Bestuur or board of directors . They have an added task compared to
2250-577: Is a threat to endangered species . In 2013, Wilmar changed its approach and endorsed sustainability principles, and now encourages their suppliers and customers to do likewise. Wilmar was founded by Kuok Khoon Hong and Martua Sitorus on 1 April, 1991 and commenced operations as a palm oil trading company. Forbes named Kuok the twelfth richest person in Singapore in 2021 and Martua is the twelfth richest person in Indonesia . In 2004, Friends of
2340-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
2430-540: Is actually protected under Indonesian law. Nevertheless, in 1997 Wilmar received permission to plant there despite it being peat land. According to locals, the plantation endangers the Sumatran tiger population that inhabits the area, and this became a point of conflict with Wilmar in 2004. Soon after, Wilmar sold PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa and joined the WWF Palm Oil Association. According to Friends of
2520-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
2610-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
2700-672: Is one of the main customers of Wilmar. Unilever and Wilmar are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) which brings together retailers, producers and NGOs like Oxfam and WWF . Palm oil , extracted from palm fruit pulp, is Wilmar's main product. Palm oil is the most widely used edible oil, and there are 42 million acres under cultivation worldwide. Commercial production has helped many communities in Africa and South-east Asia tackle local poverty. However, environmentalists have been concerned that such widespread cultivation has led to deforestation and air pollution , and
2790-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
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2880-504: Is the third-largest retail bank by market share, and second largest by number of current accounts at 30%. ING Group is the largest with 40% of current accounts, followed by Rabobank (30%), ABN AMRO (20%), and others (10%). The Rabobank Group currently consists of the following divisions: RaboDirect , formerly RaboPlus in some locations is the brand name for online-only services offered by Rabobank. RaboDirect operates in Belgium,
2970-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
3060-670: The Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
3150-497: The Darlehnskassen-Verein , which collected the savings of countryside dwellers and provided enterprising farmers with loans. This model found a lot of interest in the Netherlands at the end of the 19th century. One of the first of Raiffeisen's followers was Father Gerlacus van den Elsen, who stood at the basis of a number of local farmers' banks in the south of the Netherlands. The model caught on being championed by
3240-972: The Singapore Exchange (SGX), being the second largest as of September 2010. It was ranked 211th in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2020. It was ranked 3rd in the World's Most Admired Company (Food Production) by Fortune in 2019. Wilmar International business activities include oil palm cultivation, edible oils refining, oilseeds crushing, consumer pack edible oils processing and merchandising, specialty fats, oleochemicals , and biodiesel manufacturing, grains processing and merchandising, and sugar milling and refining. In 2021, Wilmar placed 2nd on FoodTalks' Global Top 30 Specialty Oil Companies list. It has over 500 manufacturing plants and an extensive distribution network covering China , Indonesia , India and some 50 other countries. The group employs
3330-693: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) received a petition from the Bugala Farmers Association in Uganda related to UNDP's association with Bidco Africa Ltd. A complaint was also received by the UNDP's Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) and Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU). In May 2016, UNDP visited Kalangala to further investigate the issues surrounding the matter. In November 2016,
3420-465: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : Rabobank Rabobank ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈraːboːbɑŋk] ; full name: Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. ) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht , Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019),
3510-459: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
3600-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
3690-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
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3780-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
3870-475: The Dutch banking sector was devastated by a financial crisis in the early 1920s, these local banks survived largely unscathed. The religious backgrounds found their way to their organisational structures, as well; Boerenleenbank was highly centralised, while Raiffeisen-Bank promoted local autonomy . By 1940, the two organisations cooperated with each other, albeit on a limited scale. Three major developments caused
3960-706: The Earth Netherlands performed a review of Wilmar's palm oil operations in Sumatra Riau as undertaken by PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa. Wilmar had 20,800 hectares of land there and the operation was financed by the Dutch Rabobank and the International Finance Corporation . Satellite photos proved that in 2004, the plantations were on sea shore peat rain forests , the depth of the peat being four meters, whereas such land
4050-602: The Earth Netherlands, Wilmar International starts forest fires and violates the rights of local populations. In July 2007, Friends of the Earth and two local environmental organizations criticized Wilmar's illegal forest felling in Kalimantan , in Indonesia. As a result of this campaign against Wilmar's projects in Sambas , West Kalimantan , the company agreed to implement a number of new measures and policies. In July 2013,
4140-949: The Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA). This is in connection with their investigations into Rabobank's submission procedures with regard to the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate ( Euribor ) in the past. Rabobank agreed to pay settlement amounts to OM, FCA, CFTC and DOJ totalling approximately EUR 774 million. Of this, 70 million euros went to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service. In return, no criminal investigation followed. The Dutch Central Bank also took measures. CEO Piet Moerland resigned early. In February 2018, Rabobank reached
4230-632: The Mechanics name. Rabobank will continue to do business in North America related to Food and Agriculture based-lending under its subsidiary Rabo AgriFinance. In June 2012, rating agency Moody's downgraded Rabobank's to Aa2 (previously Aaa), with a negative outlook. Due to a new rating methodology in November 2011 by rating agency Standard & Poor's , the credit status was downgraded two steps from AAA to AA. In November 2014, S&P lowered
4320-410: The Netherlands and abroad. Rabobank is traditionally a farmers' bank and it still holds an 85% to 90% market share in the agrarian sector in the Netherlands. Throughout the years, the company has also started targeting small and medium-sized companies. By the mid 1970s the market share in this sector reached some 30% and currently amounts to approximately 40%. In 1987, an important milestone was reached;
4410-504: The Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Germany offering savings accounts , term deposits and managed funds . In Belgium it is known as Rabobank.be. RaboDirect Ireland was an online savings bank. In 2009, RaboDirect ran the marketing campaign that included TV commercials which featured staff confessing truths about themselves, and a microsite called Truthbank where customers could "confess" their own truths. RaboDirect
4500-717: The Special Recognition Award at the Singapore Apex CSR Awards 2015 organised by the Global Compact Network Singapore, Singapore Business Federation and The Business Times. It was hailed for being the first major palm oil player to step up to ensure its supply chain is de-linked from any forest destruction and human rights abuse. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write
4590-1313: The UNDP faulted a decision inviting Bidco Ltd into partnership with the United Nations Development Programme's Business Call to Action in Uganda. On 30 November 2016, Amnesty International published a report into working conditions on the Wilmar International plantations and refineries in Indonesia. It alleged human rights abuses, including "forced labour, low pay, exposure to toxic chemicals and discrimination against women". According to Amnesty International , Wilmar International profited from 8- to 14-year-old child labour and forced labour. Some workers were extorted, threatened or not paid for work. Some workers suffered severe injuries from exposure to herbicides containing paraquat . Wilmar customers include FAMSA , ADM , Colgate-Palmolive , Elevance , Kellogg's , Nestlé , Procter & Gamble , Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever . Wilmar palm oil may be used in popular products like Magnum ice-cream, Colgate toothpaste, Dove (toiletries) , Knorr soup, KitKat , Pantene shampoo, Ariel , and Pot Noodle . On 5 December 2013, Wilmar committed to
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#17327929626214680-697: The acquisition of Mid-State Bank & Trust on May 1, 2007, which allows Rabo to expand its services to the Central Coast region of California , United States. In 2010, it also acquired Pacific State Bank, expanding into the Central Valley of California . Utrecht-America Holdings, Inc. and Rabobank N.A. operate as subsidiaries of the Rabobank Group in the United States. In 2019, it was announced that Rabobank sold its American retail business to Mechanics Bank , with all Rabobank branches taking
4770-487: The bank. Research links Rabobank's investments to the loss of approximately 390,000 ha of Amazon or Cerrado forest (2000–2022). Rabobank has been placed on the list of major polluters of the Dutch NGO Milieudefensie because the bank would have invested more than 1.4 billion euros in companies involved in deforestation in the period from 2015 to 2022. Rabobank states that it wants to contribute to
4860-516: The case of forest fires in Indonesia that led to the island of Sumatra and Kalimantan burn and cause catastrophic smog In 2018, a Greenpeace International report asserted that Wilmar International is "the biggest and dirtiest palm oil trader in the world" In 2020, global campaign organisation Mighty Earth reported that Wilmar International was involved in cutting down of natural forests inside an oil palm concession in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua, but Wilmar's investigation concluded that
4950-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
5040-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
5130-591: The clergy and the countryside elites . The mission of the farmers' lending banks was an idealistic one, but they always operated using strict business principles. Controversially, a founding principle of Rabobank's cooperative style was to cooperate in the interest of "warding off the Shylock " . The cooperative bank model assured a tight bond between invested capital and the community. The bank's traditional headquarters are Utrecht and Eindhoven . In 1898, two cooperative bank conglomerates were formed: Raiffeisen-Bank
5220-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
5310-475: The crops she had grown in a bid to make way for palm oil plantations." Bidco Africa and Wilmar have made no recorded statement on these matters. Again according to Friends of the Earth International , the projects implications include: Forced displacement, poor labour standards, deforestation, and insecurity amongst other. The community have now taken the conglomerate to court. In February 2016,
5400-506: The deforestation is smaller than alleged and done by smallholder farmers. According to Friends of the Earth , Wilmar and Bidco Africa through Bidco Uganda, have been involved in long running dispute over land with local communities. According to The Guardian in March 2015, the land grab issue has plagued the community of Kalangala for a number of years. In July 2011, residents awoke to "find yellow machines churning up her land and razing
5490-476: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
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#17327929626215580-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
5670-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
5760-818: The first two participants, settling for $ 460 million and $ 1,500 million respectively. RBS was fined $ 612 million. On 29 october 2013 was published that the Rabobank had reached an agreement with De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch Justice Department (OM), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the United States, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and
5850-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
5940-442: The founder of the cooperative movement of credit unions, who in 1864 created the first farmers' bank in Germany. Being a countryside mayor he was confronted with the abject poverty of the farmers and their families. He tried to alleviate this need through charitable aid , but realised that self-reliance had more potential in the long run, and thus converted his charitable foundation into a farmers' bank in 1864. In doing so he created
6030-459: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
6120-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
6210-598: The interest on short-term loans that they charge each other. This concerns short-term interest periods from 1 day to 1 year. When it emerged that some banks had deliberately stated this interest rate too high or too low since 1991, the Libor scandal was born. Because the Libor interest rate is also used in the United States to calculate the price of derivatives, American regulators also took action. Barclays and UBS were
6300-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
6390-441: The local banks maintain a required level of prudence and professionalism while selling financial products. This has grown to be especially important in view of international standards such as Sarbanes–Oxley Act , Basel II and IFRS . This leads to a rather unusual phenomenon within international business: the mother companies and the much larger daughter are essentially forced to coexist in order to function properly. This has led to
6480-406: The manipulation of LIBOR currency rates worldwide. Chief Executive Piet Moerland resigned immediately as a result. In December 2015, Rabobank announced to cut 9,000 jobs by 2018 (3,000 jobs by the end of 2016) and almost a fifth of its current workforce. The policy was to comply with the tougher Basel IV rulebook. By 2019, Rabobank had offices in 38 countries. The Rabobank Group consists of
6570-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
6660-475: The nitrogen crisis. The bank refused loans to projects with alternative agricultural methods, which led to forced expansion of Dutch livestock farms. Only about 3% of the outstanding 30 billion in the agricultural sector belongs to organically operating companies, farmers receive little or no support in the transition to more sustainable agriculture and livestock farming. Rabobank still invests in expensive techniques, not in solving but in technically mitigating
6750-554: The positive publicity from Rabobank, there is criticism from society about its role in the Dutch nitrogen crisis. For example, the World Wildlife Fund (NL) wrote in an open letter that Rabobank must take its responsibility in realizing an agricultural transition to improve nature, the living environment and the agricultural sector. The House of Representatives asked the cabinet in a motion to investigate whether banks such as Rabobank could be forced to contribute to solving
6840-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
6930-437: The rating from AA− to A+ with a negative outlook. Rating agency Fitch rates the credit status of the bank AA−, with a negative outlook. As per the new strategy, Rabobank is planning to exit some markets. In September 2014, Rabobank sold Bank BGZ to BNP Paribas for $ 1.39 billion. Unlike most major banks, Rabobank's central organisation was originally a subsidiary of the local branches. However, new banking regulations made
7020-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
7110-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
7200-414: The savings bank and replaced RaboPlus with RaboDirect in these countries. In 2014, Rabobank worked with Vasco, now OneSpan , to create a new online authentication system using QR codes. Rabobank purchased Australian company Lend Lease Agro Business in 2003. In 2008, it expanded its operations in Indonesia by buying two retail banks, Bank Haga and Bank Hagakita. In the United States , Rabobank completed
7290-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
7380-493: The sustainable development of society in an economic, social and ecological sense. This is enshrined, among other things, in the Code of Conduct and in general external and internal principles for the provision of services. Corporate social responsibility is a basic principle in Rabobank's core activities. Rabobank continues to finance global meat and dairy corporations and thus drives climate change and deforestation. In contrast to
7470-418: The total outstanding loans in sectors other than agriculture exceeded those in the agricultural sector for the first time. By 2005 the agricultural credits amounted to some 8% of total outstanding credit. Rabobank also holds some 40% of the total outstanding sums on Dutch savings accounts and they account for approximately 30% of all private consumer mortgages in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, Rabobank
7560-497: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
7650-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
7740-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
7830-464: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
7920-483: Was formed as a cooperative of six local banks, while Boerenleenbank was a cooperative of 22 local banks. These two existed side by side for three-quarters of a century despite their obvious similarities. The reasons for this owed in part to legal disagreements. The most important difference, however, was cultural. The Eindhoven-based Boerenleenbank had a decidedly Catholic signature while the Raiffeisen-Bank had
8010-650: Was launched in February 2006 and was at the time only bank in New Zealand whose parent company was rated AAA by Standard & Poor's (the credit rating has since been downgraded and as of October 2015 is A). On 23 May 2007, Rabobank opened a RaboPlus Internet bank in Australia. On 20 May 2010, the services were rebranded to RaboDirect. RaboDirect is the major partner of the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby side. By 2011 over $ 6 billion had been gathered in deposits. On 20 June 2012, Rabobank opened
8100-543: Was the sponsor of rugby union 's Pro12 from the 2011-12 season until 2013–14 , it featured teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The deal was announced in June 2011, during which time the league was known as the RaboDirect Pro12. On 21 February RaboDirect announced that it would be closing down its Irish operations from 16 May 2018, with the loss of 31 jobs. RaboDirect, originally known as RaboPlus,
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