Financial Inclusion: Sustainable Services for Underserved Potential Customers

Undeserved potential customers including migrant and temporary workers, low-income families and micro and social enterprises represent an opportunity for improvement of financial inclusion in the banking sector. By engaging with relevant stakeholders, this Laboratory aims to develop frameworks consisting of shared values and knowledge that will increase the economic inclusion of those identified as excluded.

Leader Facilitator
ABI - Associazione Bancaria Italiana Sodalitas

Project Description

This lab pursues financial inclusion of un-banked and underserved segments of society such as migrants, temporary workers, micro- and social enterprises, low income families, and others. By investigating the status of the activities currently offered by commercial banks, including the products and methods used, the Lab seeks to highlight tools and development opportunities. These include innovative operational methods in product offering, service delivery, and risk assessment.

Furthermore, the Lab will help to promote the introduction of new cost-effective operating methods as a sound, viable business case, not driven by primarily philanthropic motives. This will be under the auspices of a shared knowledge and values framework that will provide a basis from which bottom-up initiatives can develop.

Objectives

  • Attain a deeper understanding of societal needs of un-banked and underserved segments of society
  • Pursue financial inclusion by promoting the development of innovative and cost-effective approaches in product offering, service delivery and risk assessment
  • Contribute to a complex set of policies aimed at promoting and supporting development - designed to be implemented by a variety of different stakeholders and ensuring that every group does their fair share of the work.

Deliverables

Research to better understand the potential of financial inclusion in Italy

  • Banks and financial inclusion: survey in Italy (II edition);
  • Analysis of financial and insurance needs of immigrants in Italy (II edition), and;
  • The financial needs of migrants: a demand-side study

Policy Recommendations

  • Provide a new framework and support for banks to experiment innovative and viable bundles of services.

Collection of Best Practice

  • Through discussions with Lab participants, outside stakeholders, the national and regional governments

Lab Leader

ABI - Associazione Bancaria Italiana

Facilitator

Sodalitas

Company Participants

Banks participating in the ABI Working Group on CSR:
Associazione Nazionale fra le Banche Popolari; Banca Antonveneta; Banca Carige - Cassa di Risparmio di Genova e Imperia; Banca CR Firenze; Banca del Piemonte; Banca IntesaSanpaolo; Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena; Banca Nazionale del Lavoro; Banca Piccolo Credito Valtellinese; Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna; Banca Popolare dell'Etruria e del Lazio; Banca Popolare di Bari; Banca Popolare di Milano ; Banca Popolare di Vicenza ; Banca Popolare Etica; Banca Popolare Friuladria; Banca Popolare Pugliese; Banca Sella; Banco Popolare; BCC dell'Alta Padovana; BCC Treviglio ; CartaSi; Cassa di Risparmio di Cento; Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo; Dexia Crediop S.p.A.; Federazione Italiana delle Banche di Credito Cooperativo Casse Rurali ed Artigiane; Findomestic Banca; Hypo Alpe - Adria - Bank; UBI Banca; UBS Italia; UniCredito

Stakeholder Participants

Institutions, Migrant communities, Trade Unions, Civil Society Organizations, European Savings Bank Group, and the Forum per la Fiananza Sostenibile

EU Commission Participants

DG Regional Policy; DG Enterprise and Industry; DG Internal Market

Contact Information

Ruggero Bodo, Sodalitas
+39 02 864 60 236
csr@sodalitas.it

Chabuca Barnes, CSR Europe
+32 (0)498 505 832
cb@csreurope.org

Angela Tanno, ABI
+39 06 67 67 570
a.tanno@abi.it

Milestones - 2008

  • 29-30 January: Publication of the first findings of the
    • ‘supply-side' survey - demonstrating the widespread use of microfinance services in Italy
    • the ‘demand-side' survey - detailing the importance of financial integration for newly landed immigrants
  • 21 February: Seminar in Florence organized with the Tuscany Region - Fabrica Ethica
  • 27 February: Interbanking working grupo meeting discussing also the financial inclusion item
  • 7 March: Meeting with ABI in house working group to share the first findings and plan the following steps to public the research
  • 27 March: Co-building session with banks, research partners and the in-house working group to discuss how develop the financial inclusion topic further
  • 23 April: Meeting with Italian Ministry of Social Solidarity to explore joint action
  • 19 June: CSR Europe General Assembly - presentation of surveys and projects being run by the Lab
  • September: Meeting with high representatives of the Italian banking industry jointly with the foreign ambassadors
  • September/October: Meeting in Milan with Immigrant Groups to obtain feedback from them on the findings
  • November: national conference on CSR, presentation of the "credit and finance" working group
  • November: European Alliance Assembly - all Labs to Present Final Deliverables

Milestones - 2007

  • 08 May: Presentation of the lab to ABI Working Group
  • June - November: Collecting and analysing data on services available.
  • 30 October: Co-building session to share best practices on financial inclusion
  • 29 November: EU marketplace: output presentation.