Bank DBS Indonesia Introduces Green Savings Account To Facilitate Customers In Making Social And Environmental Contributions By Saving Their Money | Bahasa

Customers can support social enterprises and at the same time continDBS Indonesiaue to manage their wealth

Bank DBS Indonesia understands customers’ aspiration to contribute to efforts to make positive social and environmental impacts. A study conducted by Deloitte entitled “Shifting sands: How consumer behavior is embracing sustainability” revealed that 43% of consumers choose brands with sustainable business practices and values. The study also revealed that affluent customers are more likely to adopt a sustainable lifestyle.

In the past few years, Bank DBS Indonesia has maintained collaboration with partners, customers, and employees to contribute to society and the environment while improving the quality and sustainability of banking operations. Several programmes have been implemented since the pandemic broke out, including the distribution of food to the public and Covid-19 test kits to several health institutions. Bank DBS Indonesia has been engaged in sustainable banking efforts for a long time, including through a series of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-based banking products such as the RHB SRI KEHATI Index Fund that focuses on the Indonesian market in 2017 and the Batavia Global ESG. Sharia Equity USD earlier this year for offshore markets. Both are equity index mutual funds.

To further its commitment to building a sustainable society and preserving the environment, Bank DBS Indonesia today launched the Green Savings account product to facilitate customers in making donations and in actively contributing to social and environmental sustainability through automatic donation of a portion of the savings interest. In collaboration with social enterprise KRAKAKOA, all donations collected will be distributed in the form of fertilisers and seeds as well as training for 1,000 cocoa farmers in Indonesia to improve their standard of living and promote sustainable cocoa farming practices.

Festia Pisa Valensia, Head of Segmentation, Liabilities, and Mortgage, PT Bank DBS Indonesia, said in an eTalk Series, a periodic webinar held to provide the latest views on wealth management opportunities, entitled “Building Social Impact through Wealth Growth”, said, “In view of the trends and public concern for sustainability, we are committed to realising customers’ aspiration to contribute to efforts to making positive impacts on society and the environment. This is in line with Bank DBS Indonesia’s mission to become the Best Bank for a Better World aimed at empowering society and preserving the environment through responsible banking and business practices, and creating social impacts. We are also moving towards the future of banking in terms of sustainability by presenting ESG-based products, one of them the Green Savings account. We expect to have 2,000 private and priority banking customers of Bank DBS Indonesia to open Green Savings accounts.”

Gita Syahrani, Head of the Lingkar Temu Kabupaten Lestari Secretariat, shared a similar view. Speaking in the same webinar, she said that sustainability in the banking and financial sectors not only has financial benefits but also a positive impact on the environment and society. “In Indonesia, sustainable finance can be focused on building positive impacts through ESG-based strategic sectors in line with national objectives, including energy, sustainable agriculture, and plantations. By downstreaming natural resources-based industries, for example, we can empower social enterprises, MSMEs, and other businesses that have positive impacts. The banking and financial sectors can also work together with regional governments to link unintegrated sectors through natural resources-based industrial estates in villages under the ESG umbrella. This will encourage a more holistic sustainable impact,” she said.

 “KRAKAKOA was established with a mission to improve the standard of living of cocoa farmers in Indonesia and encourage sustainable cocoa farming that benefits the environment and business. Through the implementation of the ‘farmer-to-bar’ principle, farmers receive training and support to produce high-quality cocoa beans so that we can guarantee a fixed purchase price before processing the cocoa into various products that are ready to be sold and consumed. To accelerate KRAKAKOA’s mission, we have established a strategic partnership with Bank DBS Indonesia to provide wider access for the public so that they can contribute to efforts to support the sustainability of cocoa farmers and agriculture,” said KRAKAKOA CEO Sabrina Mustopo.

The Green Savings account completes a series of ESG-based banking products with positive impacts on society and the environment.

About DBS

DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank’s “AA-” and “Aa1” credit ratings are among the highest in the world.

Source: DBS