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Financial intermediaries from Latin America and the Caribbean are recognized for their sustainability work in region’s financial sector
COSTA DO SAUÍPE, Brazil – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced today the winners of the fourth annual beyondBanking awards that recognize the best projects and initiatives in the region contributing to the creation of a more sustainable financial sector. The awards will be given in a special ceremony at the Bank’s Annual Meeting taking place in in Costa do Sauípe, Bahia, Brazil. This year, financial intermediaries from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico and Peru won the awards for their sustainable banking practices.
Created in 2010, the awards seek to identify, share and inspire good practices in Latin America and the Caribbean’s financial sector. The award categories reflect distinct types of sustainable development actions, from financial inclusion strategies to the application of new technologies, as well as sustainability reports and projects that reduce the effects of climate change, among others.
The winners by category were the following:
- accessBanking Award: promotion of financial inclusion strategies
Agentes Atlántida – Banco Atlántida (Honduras)
- clearBanking Award: strengthening corporate governance, transparency and the use of sustainability reports
Reporte de sostenibilidad Bancóldex – Bancóldex (Colombia)
- connectBanking Award: dissemination of new information and communication technologies
Canales de Acceso BancoSol – Banco Solidario (Bolivia)
- equalBanking Award: support for diversity and gender equality
Acciones de accesibilidad Bradesco – Bradesco (Brasil)
- learnBanking Award: development of financial education as a tool for responsible financial decision-making
Educación financiera BCP – Banco de Crédito del Perú (Perú)
- planetBanking Award: searching for answers to the effects of climate change
Programa Reduzca e Compense CO2 – Banco Santander (Brasil)
- Socially responsible/Impact investment Award: the most socially responsible or impact investment
Fondo responsable B+Educa – BBVA Bancomer (México)
- People’s choice Award: project with the most popular support
Educación financiera BCP – Banco de Crédito del Perú (Perú)
“We created this award to identify the best sustainability practices in the financial industry in Latin America and the Caribbean and contribute to disseminate successful initiatives that combine economic with social and environmental returns,” said Gema Sacristan, Chief of the Financial Markets Division of the IDB and in charge of the beyondBanking program. “Over the years both the number of applicants and the quality of the projects have increased, which makes us very proud. ”
The awardees were chosen from over a hundred proposals for the seven categories. A Committee of Experts selected the best twenty-one proposals, three per category. Finally, the winner was selected by the public through an online vote.
About beyondBanking
The beyondBanking program is the strategy of the Financial Markets Division of the Structured and Corporate Finance Department and promotes social, environmental and corporate governance practices among financial intermediaries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was created in order to contribute to the Bank of the Future – a financial business model that combines financial profitability with social and environmental returns; values principles of transparency, responsibility and integrity; seeks to reach more people through more channels; and respects the environment and community in which it operates.