ANZ was named “Socially Responsible Bank of the Year” by Money magCANSTAR CANNEX, reflecting the bank’s continuing commitment to corporate responsibility.
ANZ Chief Executive Officer Mike Smith said ANZ’s approach to corporate responsibility reflected the bank’s values and its long-term commitment to customers.
“Our approach focuses on doing the right thing by our customers and the communities we serve. It has helped to make our customers the most satisfied of all the major banks,” says Smith.
The Money-CANSTAR CANNEX award assessed the breadth, depth, innovation and scale of each entrant’s corporate responsibility strategy and ANZ was recognised for its initiatives which include:
– Offering flexible repayment arrangements to customers experiencing periods of temporary financial difficulty, particularly as a result of the economic downturn.
– Partnering with a range of community organisations to improve the financial skills and savings of adult Australians through programs such as Saver Plus, MoneyMinded and Progress Loans Saver Plus (developed with the Brotherhood of St Laurence), for example, assist low-income earners to save for education expenses, matching every dollar saved with another dollar up to $1000 per person. More than 70% of participants are still saving several years after completing the program, according to research by RMIT University.
– Developing and supporting programs such as MoneyBusiness to improve financial capability among Indigenous communities as part of ANZ’s Reconciliation Action Plan. Introducing social and environmental management policies to guide lending decisions for large corporate clients and projects. These policies cover the greenhouse and eneand mining and minerals sectors.
– Pursuing environmental targets, including reducing ANZ’s consumption of paper, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of waste sent to landfill.
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