The banking associations AEB and CECA have signed a document committing to promote among their member institutions a series of operating principles to strengthen their support for society and channel it through specific measures.
In the current situation, marked by the crisis resulting from the pandemic, the associations have signed the ‘Strategic Protocol to Strengthen the Social and Sustainable Commitment of Banking,’ after duly informing the General Secretariat of the Treasury of its content and development.
This document includes measures to promote: workforce training, redeployment and efficient work allocation, maintaining the activity of former professionals now retired, financial and digital education, financial inclusion, sustainability, digitalization, and measures relating to remuneration.
One of the measures is the creation of an Observatory for Financial Inclusion, which will develop and update the map of access to financial services in rural Spain, so that in the future, mechanisms can be established, where appropriate, jointly between the sector and public administrations, to expand access to basic financial services for the population.
The banking sector is closely linked to the country’s economic growth. Through its activity, it has supported entrepreneurship, business creation, with special focus on SMEs, household financing, and the promotion of new social and environmental projects, ultimately contributing to the development of the communities in which it operates.
Likewise, the banking sector has a long track record of supporting society through various actions, among which it is worth highlighting support for financial education for young people and seniors, the constant promotion and financing of initiatives to help develop and integrate the most disadvantaged groups, and investment in historical and cultural heritage.
Now that we are beginning to see signs of recovery, this is the ideal time to demonstrate that banking, although affected by economic circumstances, not only wants to maintain its support for families and businesses, but to strengthen it, for the benefit of Spanish society as a whole.
