Film: 'Balanced Banking' in developing countries
29-7-2009 | CSR news
Rabobank is socially involved in providing access to financial services in developing countries. Through Rabo Development, activities in Zambia and Paraguay have been captured in the film ‘Balanced Banking’. The film shows Rabobank’s strong presence with and commitment to the partner banks in countries that are becoming increasingly important in the field of agriculture.
Visiting Zambia
In the ‘Balanced Banking’ film, BBC presenter Seetha Hallet visits Zambia where Rabo Development is a partner of the Zanaco bank. The partnership has enabled the bank to develop at a rapid pace. Bank employees explain how they reach people in the country’s rural regions. Government ministers describe the bank's role in fighting poverty in the rural regions of Zambia. And, customers say the bank not only assists them by providing access to financial services, but also by organising workshops to help them conduct business more successfully.
Shining the light on Paraguay
Then, the video takes flight to Paraguay where Rabo Development has acquired a minority participating interest in Banco Regional, now the largest bank in Paraguay. While only 20 percent of the population of Paraguay currently have access to financial services, Banco Regional is committed to ultimately achieving universal access in the country.
Cooperative principles
“Our activities in Zambia and Paraguay show how vitally important access to financial services is for a country’s development. The film also shows how Rabo Development combines the founding cooperative principles of Rabobank in the nineteenth century, with the modern technologies of the twenty-first century,” said Arnold Kuijpers, Managing Director of Rabo Development.
