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Microcredit Summit Campaign thanks Banco Solidario for its commitment in submitting its Institutional Action Plan and for being an active member of the Microcredit Summit Campaign. Microfinance Information Exchange and Red Financiera Rural certify Banco Solidario S.A.’s transparency in obtaining 5 diamonds in the Mix Market, by improving the transparency, quality, and reliability of microfinancial information. Fundación Zoológica del Ecuador recognizes Banco Solidario as a Zoosocio Empresa Solidaria as a result of its support for Biodiversity conservation programs and the care of Wildlife species at the Quito Zoo. COMMUNICATIONThese facts are transmitted to the following interest groups: customers, staff members, shareholders, investors, suppliers, control agencies, allied entities and networks, social movements, leaders of opinion, the media, and the general community by means of Revista Solidario and the Bank web page. Publications on Banco Solidariowww.globalreporting.orgwww.themix.org www.LendToEndPoverty.org Micronoticias Accion Internacional |
Access to banking services Solidario’s access to banking services index was 38% in 2008.
The total inflow in 2008 was $14 million from the following international organizations: AECI, MEDA, ELF, DEXIA MICROCREDIT FUND, CALVERT, MICROVEST, and VDK SPAARK BANK. They rely on Solidario to fight poverty through small business, while the total foreign investment reached USD104 million.
The total value of loans granted to 149,133 customers in 2008 was USD236 million, while the average loan was USD1606. These loans were delivered through centralized operations that allowed record disbursements per month to be achieved.
In January 2009, the Bank opened agencies in Tumbaco, in Quito, and in Parque California, in Guayaquil. It also opened points of service in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and moved and expanded the agency in Latacunga.
The Bank’s orientation is social, and for some years now, it has also been environmental. It submitted its fourth Sustainability Report in accordance with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) ¹ standards based on G3 Guidelines, and submitted indicators that focused on People, the Planet, and Financial Profitability. It is the first Ecuadorian Bank to have reported to GRI, according to its Executive President, Ernst Ligteringen.
The Sustainability Committee ² was established in 2005 and was called the Corporate Responsibility Committee whose duties were to strengthen its principles of corporate, environmental, and financial responsibility in an efficient, practical manner.
The Committee’s initiatives in 2008 focused on programs for recycling, saving paper and reforestation. Using guidelines from the City Council of Quito, organic waste is separated from inorganic waste. Paper is recycled and usually delivered to the Boy Scouts Association.
The goal of planting one tree for each of the Bank’s staff members was achieved in 2008, with the planting of 800 trees in Parque Itchimbía and Parque Metropolitano in Quito, and Parque Ecológico in Ibarra.
A Corporate performance evaluation or Corporate Rating was carried out in 2008 by Microfinanzas Rating. ³ The technical assistance of OIKO Credit is being sought to improve the corporate performance of the Institution.
In September 2008 the Bank organized a Corporate Social Responsibility (RSE) Strategic Planning Seminar with consultants from the Instituto de Argentina de RSE (Iarse). Four companies from the Financial Holding Group attended, and important progress was made based on the objectives of achieving sustainable competitive advantages, renewing current competitive advantages, and ensuring that value added is generated. The Committee is currently working on the preparation of Solidario’s RSE Strategic Plan.
Digital Access is a joint initiative by the companies of the Holding Group, Unibanco, Solidario, Orve Hogar, and Almacenes Japón, to promote digital inclusion in Ecuador. It includes:
1. Technological stands or islands at several branches of the Bank and in some stores to be used by customers and non-customers at no cost. During this pilot phase, four islands have been located in Banco Solidario.
2. The creation of Escuelas de Informática y Ciudadanía (EIC) [Computer and Citizenship Schools] in low-income communities. The Group is supporting two EIC’s: Orve Hogar on La Prensa, and in Toctiuco (a marginal neighborhood of Quito with more than 30,000 inhabitants).
These schools are established with the support of organizations from the community and are managed entirely by them. Banco Solidario’s support involves providing computers for the EIC and training teachers from the community itself. This is complemented by Internet access provided by Telconet and the methodology of Fundación CDI (Committee for the Democratization of Computing).
Banco Solidario provides funding and participates actively in Fundación Operación Sonrisa missions, whose surgeries change the lives of children and youth born with congenital defects.
The Bank provides uniforms and a coach for its athletes, and also sponsors their participation in international races.
¹ GRI is an organization that promotes the quality, rigor, and usefulness of Sustainability Reports. Its objectives are:
² The Committee leads the process towards sustainability and is made up of employees from all areas of the Bank. It is headed by the CEO and one member of the staff. It is organized in work groups: vision and corporate strategy, economic, corporate and environmental indicators.
³ Microfinanza Rating is an international agency whose headquarters are in Italy, which evaluates microfinance institutions and operates through IADB/CGAP/EU funds.
The Bank
