CTBC Bank
This award can often be hard to judge. What, after all, constitutes excellence in corporate and social responsibility? For their part, banks are often keen to stress their fluffy, giving side, while neglecting to trumpet the way their actual financial services benefit themselves and their clients.
So it is a pleasant surprise to find a lender getting the balance and the mix right. CTBC Bank proves its willingness to help the world around it, spearheading an anti-drugs campaign that reaches out to 60,000 citizens. Its Light up a Life campaign, which helps disadvantaged children, continues to do great things. First launched in 1985, it has raised billions of dollars and, along the way, helped nearly 400,000 people.
CTBC has also been active in helping green companies to pursue initial public offerings at home and abroad, while investing directly in green corporates and industries. It was the first Taiwan lender to launch a credit card specifically designed to support people trapped on lower incomes or in welfare and it pioneered the industry’s original drive into paperless services.
When it comes to CSR, there is little that CTBC has not promoted, pioneered or invested in. It is the worthy winner of a worthy award.