‘Bangladesh a social laboratory for innovation, inclusive banking and finance’

FE Report

The first two days of the second Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) summit ended Sunday on a note of cross cultural and intellectual exchange for the future.

The sustainable banking leaders, who have gathered in Bangladesh to see the work of BRAC at first hand, intend to spend their last day setting goals and an action plan for the future.

The bank's leaders, as well as a group of younger future leaders from their member banks, have discussed how they intend to promote their increasingly prominent sustainable business models. They have drawn from the experience of eleven successful banks from a diverse range of countries, including Mibanco from Peru, XacBank from Mongolia, and Danish bank, Merkur.

The visiting bank representatives had the opportunity to get a firsthand look at the businesses and entrepreneurs that have benefitted from BRAC Bank SME loans as well as BRAC's micro finance loans, to better understand the people and communities that their increasingly popular type of banking reaches. "Seeing the extraordinary difference that BRAC makes is inspiring," says GABV Programme Manager, James Niven. "BRAC is a catalyst for change, just as the other members of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values are. But while together they are already achieving a great deal, we believe we can do much more. The last two days have helped us to focus on these ambitions and how we will deliver them."

The content of the conference included addressing advocacy, so the members of the GABV can identify the issues they should publicise and the best ways to use their extensive network to do it. Discussions included the challenges and opportunities of changing regulations for banks, and thought leadership. The organization is keen to grow, support banks looking to adopt a more sustainable approach to their work, and influence the wider behavior of mainstream banks so that they in turn do more to finance disadvantaged people and safeguard the environment.

The participants at the conference are committed to growing sustainable banking because they believe it has the power to deal with some of the most urgent issues facing people across the world. They have been encouraged by the progress to date, and hope to make a significant announcement about the network's wider impact at its conclusion.

Dr. Atiur Rahman, Govener, Bangladesh Bank, in a speech at the end of the second day of Conference said "I think they are in the right place, Bangladesh is indeed the social laboratory for innovation and for inclusive banking and finance."