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1.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
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Editorial
During the financial crisis, but also during the
national debt crisis that followed it, financial
institutions have found themselves constantly
in the eye of the storm. This may be the reason
why, both inside and outside of the financial
sector, more and more requests are made for
the social role of the financial institutions to
be explained. A question that the sector could
not and did not want to ignore.
We need not elaborate about the importance
of the financial institutions for society. They
are the guardians of the citizens’ savings. They
fulfil a crucial role in payment transactions.
And, more than anywhere else in the world,
Belgian financial institutions grant loans that
provide families, authorities and companies,
and in particular SMEs, with the necessary
oxygen. Outside of Europe, companies and
even authorities first look for funding to the
capital markets and only in the second in-
stance to financial institutions. Here, it is pre-
cisely the opposite.
Financial institutions are also important play-
ers in the field of employment (and, as a con-
sequence, in social solidarity via the social
security contributions), fraud prevention and
taxation (e.g. via withholding tax and bank
duties that are paid to the Treasury).
In brief: Belgian financial institutions are at
the service of people and society.
That crucial role also entails obligations.
Therefore, since the financial crisis broke out,
the sector has frequently, if not continuously,
held up a mirror to its face. We have listened
to customers, reflected with trade unions
and other partners on what went wrong and
thought about remedies to make the sector
more vigorous and more sustainable. That ex-
ercise has resulted in the following: a report
that tries to map out the social responsibility
of the financial sector.
The very first
Corporate Social Responsibility
Report
of the Belgian financial sector discuss-
es 22 themes that touch the heart of Belgian
banking. The themes are formulated as ques-
tions that society might ask itself. They were
defined after various consultations with stake-
holders – from banks to employees and sup-
pliers, consumer associations, NGOs, supervi-
sors and academics. In this report we therefore
wish to thank them very much for their input
and commitment to help look for the building
blocks for a more sustainable financial sector.
The report looks at the past, but must above all
be a guideline for the future. A future in which
the financial sector achieves its commitment
to society and deepens it further. In which it
maps out its achievements, but also identifies
its challenges on the road to a more sustain-
able world and society.
Filip Dierckx
Michel Vermaerke
Chairman Febelfin
Chief Executive
Officer Febelfin