Global retail bank leaders meet in Colombia to discuss trends on sustainable finance, cybersecurity and financial education
The conference was hosted by WSBI President, Mr Isidro Fainé (President at ‘La Caixa’ Foundation) and the WSBI Regional President for The America and Caribbean, Mr Diego Prieto (President at Banco Caja Social, Colombia). The World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI), based in Brussels, brings together 88 worldwide saving banks associations from 67 countries.
Isidro Fainé highlighted the social responsibility of banks to make a more prosperous, sustainable and equitable society. “In recent years, we have seen unprecedented movements in interest rates, suffered a chain of financial crises and had to adapt to drastic reforms in the regulatory frameworks of the banking sector. We are immersed in a complex, uncertain and unstable scenario.” The president reassured confidence when he added: “I am optimistic about our future. We are called upon to continue to conduct banking with a profound sense of social responsibility and to make a more prosperous, sustainable and equitable society a reality. At this time of growing inequalities, our social action takes on more importance than ever”.
Peter Simon, Managing Director of WSBI-ESBG stressed “We all have the responsibility to discuss and define what is our take as socially responsible banks and as global leaders in retail banking, amid a complicated economic outlook and the advent of new technologies. While it’s true that artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and one day, with AI, we will be able to make smarter investment decisions than the best Wall Street analysts, it is important to remember that technology can never fully replace the human touch in serving communities. As our members know first-hand, serving communities requires more than trust financial expertise, it requires a deep understanding of the needs of the struggles of the daily lives of the people that we all serve”.
During the conference, leading financial experts from IFC (International Finance Corporation) World Bank, the WEF, CECA, Caixa Bank, Telefonica, Al Barid Bank (Morocco) and State Bank of India, amongst others presented success stories in digitisation and cybersecurity tackling sustainable finance and financial education as a means for financial inclusion.
Priorities for the coming years
Helmut Schleweis, President of DSGV German Savings Bank Association (DSVG) and Dominique Goursoulle-Nouhaud President Chairman of the National Federation of Caisses d’Epargne (FNCE) and also the President of the European Saving and Retail Banking Institute (ESBG), as keynote speakers, showed the solid commitment of the WSBI’s members to the latest WSBI General Assembly’s priorities in Paris in 2021. Financial inclusion, the promotion of sustainable finance, innovation, leveraging digitisation to promote proximity to the customer and reinforcing solvency in the framework of Basel IV, were the priorities set for the coming years.
The Conference was kindly sponsored by CaixaBank, Banco Caja Social, CECA, DSGV, Minsait (INDRA), and Movistar Empresas.
From the Press corner
Other publications from Latin America news outlets:
Press contact: Maria Maria Gaton Fraile
Head of Department – Communications
maria.gaton-fraile@wsbi-esbg.org
Tel.: +32 2 211 11 91
related
May 4, 2023
ESBG responds to the Commission’s consultation on its Taxonomy Environmental Delegated Act
On 3 May, ESBG responded to the Commission’s consultation on its new set of EU taxonomy criteria for economic activities that
April 12, 2023
ESBG revises its position paper on the CSDDD in accordance with the recent negotiations
Given the developments of the recent political negotiations, ESBG has decided to update its position paper on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
October 5, 2022
Joint letter to Commissioner McGuinness on the EFRAG consultation regarding its first set of draft ESRSs
On 27 September, the ESBG, together with the European Banking Federation (EBF), the European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB), Insurance Europe, Accountancy Europe, Business Europe and…
August 3, 2022
International Sustainability Standards Board consultation on Sustainability Disclosures
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has been established at COP26 with the purpose of developing a comprehensive global baseline of sustainability disclosures for the capital…
July 8, 2022
World savings and retail banks call for harmonised taxonomies on sustainable finance
The World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) called today on policymakers for the harmonisation of taxonomies on sustainable finance. At the end of the 26th WSBI World Congress, the…
July 7, 2022
World savings and retail banks moving forward on sustainability
World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI)'s members get together for the first time since 2018 at the 26th World Congress, in Paris. Under the title 'Locally Rooted, Globally responsible' the…
April 8, 2021
DORA should not increase operational and financial burden for ESBG members and their clients
BRUSSELS, 9 April 2021 – Banks have been among the first companies to install computers and create large data centres. This has contributed to the efficiency of their role of financing the economic…