On 31 October 1924 was constituted in Milan the Worldwide Savings Banks Institute and Retail Banks (World Savings and Retail Banking Group or WSBI, by its initials in English) and since then is celebrated in that date the International day of the Tohorro. That went a meeting of credit institutions founded in different countries with the aim of channelling the saving and the financing of the popular classes. Companies with legal and denominations peculiarities own in different languages: casse gave risparmio, in Italian, savings banks, in English, caisses d’epargne, in French, sparkassen, in German or savings banks in Spanish. The objective of that constitutive meeting was ponder on the meaning ethical-economic of a model of business banking that, already then, held companies of major tradition.
The date did not go coincidental, the period between the wars was the context favour to generate that international movement. In those understanding years between major powers was created also the League of Nations. On 31 October, will meet again in Italy (Rome) current representatives of the savings banks and the retail banks, in a Congress that will commemorate the centenary.
The Institute agglutinates today to 6,400 companies in more than 80 countries and has 1,700 million clients to overall level. In 2024, in was it of the immediate thing, are few the organisations that they can fill with pride of a so prolonged route. In Spain, CECA, the Association of the Savings banks, was born four years later (1928) for boost of those associated of the Basque Country and Navarre. It has been since then a key member of the WSBI. The best test of the interconnection of the two organisations is that both are presided over currently by Isidro Fainé, steady defender of the model of banking of proximity that they promote so much CECA as the Institute.
But what is which identifies to the WSBI 100 years later? Of course is not its members' legal framework, so diverse and linked to the national commercial laws. In addition, nobody decides work with a company for its statutes. The clients choose a supplier, for its service. That is why today, the Institute describes to its partners attending to its activity, to the impact of its performance. A century later, these banks are autodefined for the calls three erres: Retail, Rooted, Responsible.
In the first place, the members of the WSBI are retail companies (Retail). With vocation of financing the actual economy and, therefore, to the people. They put the focus in families, self-employed workers and SMEs. They are not banks of investment, that they prioritise the financing of corporate operations. In the second place, are deeply taken root in the territory (Rooted) and in its local communities via an office network capillary. They are not overall megabanks. Those associated of the USA, are denominated Community Banks to emphasise, precisely, that they are the main street banks (banks of the main street) when dealing with the Wall Street banks. And above all are responsible companies (Responsible). They are banks with return to the community to that which provide its credit services and deposit. In Spain denominate to this return Obra Social. The Act of Savings banks and Foundations Banking of 2013 has allowed perfecting in our country this model and its governance. It has strengthened the professionalisation, not only of the financial activity with the creation of creditworthy banks, but also of the management of the Obra Social, with the promotion of foundations specialised in an efficient social action.
Of the 2,800 million dollars that members of the Institute allocated in 2023 to Obra Social, the companies associated with CECA contributed more than 900. It is more, it has been Spanish start-up the creation, within the WSBI, of a Social and Philanthropic Committee to promote Obra Social's joint projects in the international realm. This Committee coordinates initiatives that they require scale and comprehensive approach as they are the biomedical research or the financial teaching of basic literacy in developing countries.
The debates that they will take place in Rome will be aimed at achieve, leveraged in those three erres, others 100 credit flow years. Will be debated on as reconcile a service in person quality with the attention to clients that they want relate with its bank exclusively via digital service channels. On the impact of the artificial intelligence in the management or on the cybersecurity. At the same time expert' contributions are expected on ethical microloans or saving, of so different countries as a Nigeria, India, El Salvador or Thailand.
However, the Worldwide Congress of the WSBI will be, above all, an opportunity to revalidate that spirit of does a century. Reaching a company able to combine was it of the immediacy with the simplicity of defining the things for its performance: with three erres.
