The Worldwide Savings Banks Institute and Retail Banks combines more than 6,400 companies of 78 countries. It has created the Social and Philanthropic Board, an organisation to channel investments in social programs
The Worldwide Savings Banks Institute and Retail Banks (WSBI, by its initials in English) has just celebrated its 27th Congress World Championship in Rome commemorating its 100 years of life. It is the banking association older of the world, that combines more than 6,400 companies of 78 countries. Founded on 31 October 1924 in Milan under the premise of promoting the saving to guarantee the financial security and the independence, a century later and beyond seeing to regulatory matters, is concentrating on build a company more inclusiva and sustainable via the innovation, the philanthropy and the open dialogue.
For this, the associated companies, as the Sparkassenstiftung German, the State Bank of India, the Fundación Social Group of Colombia and the sector CECA in Spain, allocate every year 3,500 million dollars to community projects all around the world. The programmes in which invest are aligned with objectives of sustainable development (ODS) of the United Nations, and they go from the rebuilding of communities after natural disasters until the financing of medical equipments in underdeveloped countries, the boost of initiatives for the financial inclusion or the empoderamiento of the SMEs led by women, among others lots.
Precisely to follow spreading the Obra Social to overall level, the international company has created the Social and PhilanthropicBoard, a new organisation in which all are centralised the activities that they are carried out, ordering, in addition to give visibility to all the projects and of promoting the exchange of ideas and knowledge between the members.
During the first meeting of the Board, that it took place April in Thailand, the associated companies signed the Bangkok declaration , a manifesto in which promise to materialise stock in six fields: youth population, poverty reduction, support for education, women's empowerment, the elderly and sustainability of the planet.
Isidro Fainé, chairman of WSBI, states that “the creation of the Social Board and Philanthropic underlines our constant commitment to achieve a good change in the world that us surrounds. The investments that we carry out every year are not just numbers, but instead that represent tangible stock that they strengthen the communities, empoderan to the people and they drive a significant progress all around the world ”.
WSBI has 1,700 million clients , 11.4 trillion dollars in deposits, 3,500 million dollars of philanthropic investment, 220,000 branches and 2.1 million employees. «Feel and act with social responsibility is inextricably linked to our identity. We have born thus, is part of our DNA and is our vocation. All of this is translated in our way of doing banking that it is basically different to that one of other actors of the sector, and also, is profitable, efficient and fair”, Isidro remarks Fainé.
851 millions to Obra Social in Spain
In Spain, the boost to the Obra Social comes thanks to CECA (association that represents to CaixaBank, Kutxabank and Cajasur Bank, ABANCA, Unicaja, Ibercaja Bank, Caixa Ontinyent, Colonya Pollença and Cecabank, and to more than thirty foundations). Education and research, culture, local development, creation of employment, sport, leisure, environment… The foundations and savings banks partners allocated as a whole 851 million euros during 2023, which means an increase of 6.4% with respect to the previous year. Thanks to this resource, have been carried out more than 80,960 activities, with more than 30 million payees and with special focus in the vulnerable groups.
Following on from this, the approval of the Act 26/2013 of BankingSavings Banks and Foundations, supposed an earlier and a then, according to says Alberto Aza, CECA's spokesman: “We live a significant change, originating bigger and creditworthy groups, and preserving the Obra Social, seña of identity of the sector, that it is developed for the foundations”. Since then, the Obra Social of the sector CECA has invested more than 7,800 million euros and has carried out more than 930,000 activities. At the close of 2023, an increase of 19.9% is registered in the investment with respect to the financial year of 2014.
Isidro Fainé, that in addition to chairman of WSBI is CECA's chairman and of the Fundación “la Caixa ”, ensures that “our intention remains immutable: contribute to the social advance through the project financing that believe opportunities of progress for the people, securing do everything the possible thing in favour of the financial inclusion, as an anteroom of the social inclusion, and with a special sensitivity towards the most vulnerable”groups.