Latin American banks reaffirm their commitment to financial education and inclusion

TELA, HONDURAS, 17 NOVEMBER 2023 – The Latin America and Caribbean Regional Group of the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) today issued a Declaration reiterating its commitment to financial education and inclusion as an indispensable element to eradicate poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

“We must improve the financial inclusion of our clients through financial education aimed at developing effective decision-making skills that leverage improvements in people’s quality of life and well-being,” said Diego Prieto Rivera, WSBI regional president and President of Banco Caja Social (Colombia).

The WSBI’s regional group, known as GRULAC, made its commitment clear by presenting an official statement detailing measures to achieve the goal of financial inclusion in the region with a focus on banking, but also including the role of civil society, multilateral organisations and national governments.

These measures include joining efforts to create an ecosystem for financial education and inclusion, focusing efforts on vulnerable groups, making decisive progress in building trusting relationships between banks and their customers, defining financial education as financial capability building, and developing reliable metrics to assess the impact of financial education programmes.

The statement was officially endorsed by GRULAC members, which are:

Chile BancoEstado
Colombia Banco Caja Social
Cuba Banco Popular del Ahorro
El Salvador Federation of Credit Unions and Banks of the Workers (Fedecrédito)
Honduras Banco Atlántida
Mexico Inbursa
Panama Caja de Ahorros
Peru Peruvian Federation of Municipal Savings Banks Savings and Credit (FECPMAC), Caja Huancayo
Dominican Republic Asociación Popular de Ahorros y Préstamos (APAP)
Venezuela Banco Nacional de Crédito
Regional Latin American Federation of Banks (FELABAN)

The GRULAC meeting was held in Tela, Honduras, on 16-17 November, hosted by Banco Atlántida.

“It was a very productive meeting between institutions that share our common values of serving our communities through responsible banking,” said WSBI Director General Peter Simon.

“It has been of great benefit to meet again among WSBI members after the forced pause due to the pandemic. We had the opportunity to get closer to each other, learn from each other about new technologies and transformation processes to better serve our clients throughout the region,” said Faustino Laínez Mejía, Chairman of the Board of Banco Atlántida, the host of the meeting.

The meeting was entitled “Latin American banking in the midst of transformation: an exchange of experiences”.

WSBI is an association of banks founded in 1924 with members in 69 countries. Combined, WSBI members globally serve 1.4 billion customers, take deposits of USD 11.4 trillion and employ 2.1 million people.

Press contact:

WSBI
Leticia Lozano Rodríguez
Senior Advisor for the Americas and the Caribbean
leticia.lozano wsbi-esbg.org
+32 476420953

Banco Atlántida
Gabriela Delgado Gómez
Corporate Image Manager
gmdelgado@bancatlan.hn
+504 2280-0000 ext. 1074

About WSBI

Founded in 1924, WSBI brings together savings and retail banks from 69 countries, representing 6400 savings and retail banks worldwide with 1.4 billion customers. WSBI focuses on international regulatory issues that affect the savings and retail banking industry and provides a platform for knowledge exchange between member banks. Its aim is to achieve sustainable, inclusive, and balanced growth and job creation. Supporting a diversified range of financial services to meet customer needs, WSBI favours an inclusive form of globalization that is just and fair. It supports international efforts to advance financial access and financial usage for everyone. WSBI recognizes that there are always lessons to be learned from savings and retail banks from different environments and economic circumstances. It, therefore, fosters the exchange of experience and best practices among its members and supports their advancement as sound, well-governed, and inclusive financial institutions.

About Banco Atlántida

110 Years of Solidity and Integrity
We are a banking institution with a solid regional trajectory, founded in Honduras on February 10, 1913. We began operations in the city of La Ceiba and in August of the same year, the State of Honduras accredited us as an authorized institution for the official issuance of banknotes in Honduras for 37 years.

At the end of 1914, we began our process of expansion throughout the Honduran territory with the opening of branches in the main cities of the country. In 1950, Banco Atlántida was transformed and began a new era, focused on innovation and diversification of services. It was then that the goal of creating the largest banking network in Honduras and being the pioneering institution in financial technology and fiduciary services was proposed.