Case study: How Banco Promerica de Costa Rica works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices

Stakeholder identification and consultation

Please describe which stakeholders (or groups/ types of stakeholders) you have identified, consulted, engaged, collaborated or partnered with for the purpose of implementing the Principles and improving your bank’s impacts. This should include a high-level overview of how your bank has identified relevant stakeholders, what issues were addressed/results achieved and how they fed into the action planning process.

Banco Promerica has identified, consulted, and collaborated with various stakeholders to advance sustainability:

• Board of Directors: Engaged through ongoing consultations during board meetings and committee sessions.
• Business Customers: Engaged by offering sustainable products and financial solutions, and consulted through market studies or interviews.
• Collaborators: Engaged by fostering a culture of sustainability within and outside the organization, extending it to their families, friends, and clients. They are consulted through an anonymous questionnaire every two years.
• Suppliers: Engaged by aligning them with sustainability goals and attracting new suppliers who can offer more sustainable solutions. Consultations occur through interviews and meetings with the suppliers’ department.
• Regulatory Entities: Engaged by ensuring compliance with all national and international regulations.
• Local Governments: Engaged by collaborating on community projects and creating social investment impacts. Consultations are conducted through interviews and meetings with the Social Investment department.
• Strategic Allies: Engaged through project development and collaborative actions, with consultations occurring during meetings.
• Development Financial Institutions (DFIs and sustainability investment funds): Engaged by providing funds for sustainable credits and offering technical assistance to the bank and its clients. DFIs are regularly consulted and reported to.

How did Banco Promerica de Costa Rica work with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities?

In its 2022-2023 PRB Reporting and Self-Assessment Template Banco Promerica de Costa Rica reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:

Banco Promerica de Costa Rica offers green loans with different conditions compared to the rest of the portfolio, including better terms for green mortgages and green vehicles.

Banco Promerica assesses credits with a specific focus on climate risks, providing clients with information on how to adapt their businesses to future climate change impacts. The exclusion list is regularly updated according to the sectors that need to be restricted to avoid high intensity activities.

Additionally, a dedicated committee is working on developing a new customer experience for women. Banco Promerica de Costa Rica has provided training on unconscious bias, inclusive communication, active listening, and gender equality.

UN Principles for Responsible Banking: Accelerating a positive global transition for people and the planet

With over 300 signatory banks representing almost half of the global banking industry, the Principles for Responsible Banking are the world’s foremost sustainable banking framework. Through these Principles, the banking community takes action to align core strategies, decision-making, lending and investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

FBRH Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) Assurance:

First class PRB assurance services: The result of solid, hands-on ESG/ Sustainability experience

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The combination of all the above empowers FBRH to provide first class Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) assurance services.

References:

This case study is based on published information by Banco Promerica de Costa Rica, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:

https://www.promerica.fi.cr/media/695036/banco-promerica-prb-reporting-and-self-assessment-2022-2023.pdf

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