At the Heart of Responsible Banking Social banking has been written into ERSTE Foundation’s DNA from the very beginning.
From 1819 on, the Erste Österreichische Sparkasse focused on those people who had no or only very limited access to financial services. Financial inclusion and the creation of a certain material security also for those with very small incomes and no financial reserves became the hallmark of savings bank activities. ERSTE Foundation has inherited this orientation and actively involves Erste Bank Group and civil society partners in living this responsibility of creating a positive future for all. Over the last 15 years we have been jointly building structures and services, first in Austria with Zweite Sparkasse and subsequently in all the countries where Erste Group is present. We have encouraged and supported Erste Group since 2006 in developing inclusive financial services and products that enable different groups of clients to fulfil their potential and become active members of our societies. People at risk of poverty are supported with financial advice and the opportunity to open cheque and savings accounts and receive small loans in emergency situations or to pay off loan sharks whose victims they have become. A specific programme enables Roma families in Eastern Slovakia to benefit from guaranteed housing loans to build decent, safe houses for themselves.
In eastern Slovakia, the residents of the village of Rankovce, which is mostly inhabited by Roma families, built houses for themselves and their neighbours with the help of microcredits from Slovenská sporiteľňa, a lot of initiative and support from the NGO Project DOM.ov. From the left: coordinator for savings and loans Vlado Frický, construction coordinators Jozef Gajdoš and Ľuboš Zuskár, construction instructor Ondrej Sameľ and client Adriana Fliťárová on the village street, which is now lined with their new homes. Photo: Lukáš Klčo
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