Erste Bank

In the firm belief that everyone must be treated with dignity and respect, our founders established Erste 200 years ago to give everyone – without distinction of status, nationality, faith, gender, age etc. – access to prosperity. Disseminating and securing prosperity for all is and always will be our goal. An important phrase of our vision is that “Our commitment to our customers and to Hungary, in addition to our banking and investment services, is also demonstrated by our commitment to society.”

For various reasons, a substantial number of people do not have access to the basic means of everyday life, live in poverty or lack financial stability. Erste Group is dedicated to support those who only a few believe in, to help themselves in their economic development and to have access to financial services.

Social Banking stands for equal accessibility and presenting the voice of the banks’ clients and potential employees. Therefore, with the involvement of acclaimed NGOs, we are continuously reviewing the appropriate operation of our service channels and employment strategy in order to get valuable insights from our stakeholder groups and enable the Bank to develop its processes.

We have also had a special focus on supporting NGOs and social enterprises. Subsequently, Erste Bank Hungary developed and institutionalised the value proposition for members of the civil sector both by developing a unique loan product offer that is supported by a European Investment Fund (EIF) guarantee and by the creation of the most affordable civil account package in the market.

In addition, Erste Social Banking also has a bridging role between its NGO clients and beneficiaries and further potential investors and sponsors. There are loads of examples when we inspired and activated members of Erste’s business network to do good together for a noble cause, let it be a strategic cooperation, a need for financial support, a new project development or a charity event.

In order to learn more about the approach and activity of Erste Social Banking, we kindly recommend you to read this article with the director of the field, Orsolya Szalay.