Dutch lender Rabobank has announced plans to axe 9,000 jobs by 2018 as part of a major restructuring.

The layoffs, which equate to 19% of the bank’s workforce, are in addition to the 3,000 job cuts already announced by the bank.

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The downsizing will primarily affect the back office and support functions of the bank.

The move comes as the bank adopts a new governance structure, wherein all its local banks will work together as a single body with one banking license.

The model, expected to help the bank better meet regulatory needs, will be implemented from 1 January 2016.

Rabobank executive board chairman Wiebe Draijer said: "The new governance gives local Rabobanks greater scope to focus on customers in their own local market. Members will gain greater influence. All local Rabobanks will be represented in the General Members Council, the highest decision-making body within the Rabobank organisation.

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"The 106 local Rabobanks and Rabobank Nederland will merge to form one cooperative Rabobank, which will then operate with one banking licence and one set of financial statements."

In addition, the bank also intends to shrink its balance sheet by EUR150bn by 2020.

"On the one hand the collective task of making Rabobank stronger for the future offers challenging opportunities for individual employees; on the other hand many employees face uncertainties regarding their personal future. We will facilitate staff to invest in employability to help them find other work within the bank or outside," Draijer added.