Product details

By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies as described in our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.
You can change your cookie settings at any time but parts of our site will not function correctly without them.

Abstract

Nedbank Group (Nedbank), one of the four largest banking groups in South Africa, had started its official journey in 1831 as 'Cape of Good Hope Bank'. Since inception, Nedbank had set its vision to become Southern Africa's most responsible bank with the help of its ten 'Deep Green' aspirations. However, in 2003, the bank was in a crisis. It was about to lose its banking licenses primarily due to poor staff morale, falling share prices and poor earnings. To overcome this crisis, Nedbank started its sustainable financing initiatives as its makeover approach in South Africa. The bank had implemented various initiatives such as Equator Principles (a risk management framework), Green Trust Fund (Funds for environmental projects), enterprise-wide risk management, Fair Share 2030, etc, to fulfil its goal, ie, 'bank for all', in South Africa. Nedbank also received several awards and accolades for its sustainable initiatives (such as the 'South African Banker of the Year', 'Socially Responsible Banker of the Year', Ernst & Young Excellence in Sustainability Reporting, etc). However, the activist of '350 Africa.org' protested against the bank for financing coal projects in the region and accused the bank of greenwashing. Besides, the bank was sometimes facing problem with its stakeholders and clients while implementing the sustainability initiatives. Some analysts felt that all these CSR initiatives of Nedbank in South Africa were rather a growth strategy of the group to explore the unbanked population of the region. Would Nedbank be able to reap the benefit of its sustainability initiatives in the country? Would the sustainable financing model be its greatest advantage or weakness in the challenging Banking Sector of South Africa, wondered experts?
Location:
Industry:
Other setting(s):
2016

About

Abstract

Nedbank Group (Nedbank), one of the four largest banking groups in South Africa, had started its official journey in 1831 as 'Cape of Good Hope Bank'. Since inception, Nedbank had set its vision to become Southern Africa's most responsible bank with the help of its ten 'Deep Green' aspirations. However, in 2003, the bank was in a crisis. It was about to lose its banking licenses primarily due to poor staff morale, falling share prices and poor earnings. To overcome this crisis, Nedbank started its sustainable financing initiatives as its makeover approach in South Africa. The bank had implemented various initiatives such as Equator Principles (a risk management framework), Green Trust Fund (Funds for environmental projects), enterprise-wide risk management, Fair Share 2030, etc, to fulfil its goal, ie, 'bank for all', in South Africa. Nedbank also received several awards and accolades for its sustainable initiatives (such as the 'South African Banker of the Year', 'Socially Responsible Banker of the Year', Ernst & Young Excellence in Sustainability Reporting, etc). However, the activist of '350 Africa.org' protested against the bank for financing coal projects in the region and accused the bank of greenwashing. Besides, the bank was sometimes facing problem with its stakeholders and clients while implementing the sustainability initiatives. Some analysts felt that all these CSR initiatives of Nedbank in South Africa were rather a growth strategy of the group to explore the unbanked population of the region. Would Nedbank be able to reap the benefit of its sustainability initiatives in the country? Would the sustainable financing model be its greatest advantage or weakness in the challenging Banking Sector of South Africa, wondered experts?

Settings

Location:
Industry:
Other setting(s):
2016

Related