Raiffeisen Bank Aval’s Corporate Social Responsibility
Raiffeisen Bank Aval is a socially responsible institution. This is reflected in a multitude of aspects. In the first place, the Bank takes great care of its 18 thousand employees by providing them with civilised working conditions and decent remuneration. The Bank also treats its clients with utmost responsibility by ensuring steadily improving service quality.
Since inception, Bank Aval has been consistently committed to yet another area of corporate social responsibility — charity. As part of its charitable activities, the Bank has sponsored orphanages, education institution — as part of the Village School project, individual scholarships for best university students majoring in economics, healthcare facilities (e.g. financial assistance for the Kiev Microsurgery Centre for Children), it has also donated money to support Ukrainian children’s football development, as well as the erection of St. Michael’s Cathedral, the monument to Princess Olga and other monuments.
Following the change of majority shareholders and assumption of a new brand identity as Raiffeisen Bank Aval, the Bank carried on with its charitable activities to further promote Aval’s tradition of commitment to charity. Furthermore, the Bank’s strategy of charitable assistance rests upon principles professed and practiced by the Bank’s Austrian shareholders for decades.
Among other charity projects, in 2006 the Bank launched a special program aimed at providing special stipends to the talented students graduating from business schools (with major in banking, economics, and finance). Raiffeisen Bank Aval has instituted a scholarship named after Vadim Hetman for fourth and fifth year students of the Kiev National University of Economics (KNEU) and Kiev Mohyla Academy (KMA). Six scholarships have been awarded to KNEU’s top students and four — to KMA’s. The Bank is also sponsoring grants for two professors of KMA’s Department of Economics who, apart from their teaching duties, also undertake research work. This project represents an investment into Ukraine’s future in that it promotes Ukraine’s national education and science. Another project on the Bank’ charitable portfolio involves sponsoring the construction of a playground at a mental institution for children suffering from autism. The Bank is implementing this project jointly with the charitable NGO Modus Vivendi.
The Bank’s regional directorates carry out their own charitable and sponsorship work. For instance, the Vinnitsya Regional Directorate sponsors memorial estate of famous surgeon Pirogov; Odessa’s Directorate sponsored the reconstruction of Transfiguration Cathedral, Kirovograd’s Directorate is providing financial assistance to an ambulance facility, a local welfare centre for retirees and a centre of arts for children and teenagers. The Sevastopol Branch has committed substantial funding to support a local orphanage. Similar charitable projects are being implemented by each of the 26 regional directorates.
Apart from that, the Bank patrons projects aimed at preserving Ukraine’s cultural heritage. In 2006, Raiffeisen Bank Aval co-sponsored a festival of ethno-music — Kraina Mriy (Dreamland) and financed the release of a series of CDs — Masterpieces of Ukrainian Music; the Bank has been the title sponsor of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre for years.
The Bank has envisaged a series of sponsorship and charity projects for 2007 that management looks to as a valuable contribution to sustaining the acceptance of Raiffeisen Bank Aval by the Ukrainian public.
