Corporate social responsibility

From the very beginning of its business operations in Serbia, Raiffeisen banka has been committed to promoting a continuing practice of socially responsible behavior as a mandatory business segment and an important indicator of professionalism.

The bank’s tendency has always been to support the most vulnerable or the weakest parts of the community, such as children, the sick, or individuals with special needs. Also, the bank nurtures the principle of loyalty to the market where it does business, but also a responsible relationship towards all employees and the natural environment where it operates.

Socially responsible behaviour of the bank includes activities through two humanitarian funds: “Budimir Boško Kostić“ (founded in memory of the first Chairman of Raiffeisen banka) and “H. Stepic CEE Charity“ (founded by the Chairman of Raiffeisen Bank International, dr Herbert Stepic).

In the course of 2018, the “H. Stepic CEE Charity“, cooperating with Raiffeisen banka in Serbia, continued to offer financial support to three projects in our country. They included  support for Day Care Centers for children who live and/or work in the streets of Belgrade and Novi Sad, as well as providing support for the functioning of the migrant children’s corner in Subotica.

In the past years, traditional projects were continued where the bank’s employees are voluntary blood donors – their number exceeded 140 in 2018.

As concerns support for children, a key part of the charity work of the bank is a suitable volunteering project of its employees marking the International Children’s Day (June 1st), and in 2018 the primary school “Radoje Domanović“ in Belgrade was cleaned up as part of this project.

Continuing the very successful activities realized during the previous ten years, in 2018 a jubilee project of this kind was organized, when employees of Raiffeisen banka collected New Year’s presents for children coming from vulnerable social groups, children with developmental problems, disabled children or children without parental care placed in institutional homes. More than 700 presents were collected, bringing joy to children living in as many as ten institutions in cities across Serbia.

Apart from its humanitarian activities, the bank recognizes the importance of responsible human resources management and so tries to provide a working environment where employees will be satisfied and work in positions that correspond to their skills and knowledge, with the possibility of further professional and personal development.

The ecological dimension relates to efforts the bank is investing in order to create a balance between the need for economic growth on the one hand, and maintaining a healthy environment on the other. Special attention is focused on saving energy, paper and electronic waste recycling, further, in designing installation systems of the bank’s new headquarters, the principles of saving energy by applying modern energy recuperation systems and optimization of technical parameters for ventilation and cooling were taken into account.

The issue of business ethics is certainly one of the most important, so the bank strives to make the following its basic business ethics: transparency and work ethics, quality service and a comprehensive product offer, constant customer care and responsible marketing, as well as respecting the current legislative framework and competition integrity.