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VanCity releases social report
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On Nov. 21, VanCity released its latest Social Report, demonstrating areas of leadership in Canadian social investment and corporate social responsibility. The report, which is externally verified and open to stakeholders, is unique in Canada. No Canadian bank currently produces an externally verified social report, and social auditing is not a statutory obligation. "Conducting a social audit and producing an externally verified social report is our way of being open and accountable to our members, staff, the community and other stakeholders," said Greg McDade, Chair of the Board of Directors. Key findings from the 1998/99 social audit include: · VanCity has taken significant steps to improve access to financial services for low-income and marginalized individuals and is implementing an accessibility strategy; · The portion of VanCity's portfolio in small business loans (loans of less than $25,000) is seven times that of Canadian banks (2.8 per cent versus 0.4 per cent); · VanCity donated 4.8 per cent of its pre-tax earnings to the community in 1999, compared to an average of one per cent by five of Canada's largest banks; "The results of our 1998/99 social audit process indicate that we have some distance to go before all of our progressive policies and procedures are fully embedded into our core business activities," said Dave Mowat, VanCity's CEO. "However, we know we are headed in the right direction, and we hope our efforts will inform and provide leadership to other financial institutions." For a full copy of the report, visit the 1998/99 Social Report
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