Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, MP has called upon the banking sector leaders to uphold values and pursue responsible financing to build a sustainable and prosperous future for all.
She inaugurated the 13th in-person summit of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) at a hotel in Dhaka on Monday.
“I believe this values-based concept may become a turning point in Bangladesh's efforts to balance development and equity and combat issues like climate change and poverty to create a society with more resiliency” she commented.
She stressed the need for achieving a pro-people, pro-planet, peaceful, and sustainable Bangladesh where no one is left behind to balance this interdependent relationship between development and equity. Growth and equity are the two most essential elements for a nation's sustainable development. Another crucial aspect is that to ensure benefits for the entire population, particularly the underprivileged and vulnerable segments of the population, the rapid expansion must be strengthened with a focus on equal distribution, she continued.
David Reiling, Chair of GABV and CEO, Sunrise Banks, USA; Martin Rohner, Executive Director of GABV; Selim R.F. Hussain, MD and CEO of BRAC Bank Limited; were also present. More than 50 delegates, particularly CEOs and MDs of member-banks, are participating in the three-day conference with the theme ‘From Perspectives to Action: Transformational Practice in Action’. This is the second time the GABV is holding its annual summit in Bangladesh.
The GABV was founded in 2009 by 10 pioneer banks that believed in the need for a fairer, greener and more inclusive financial system. BRAC Bank is the founding member and the only bank representing Bangladesh in the global forum. Values-based banks have the ambition to put people and the planet at the centre of decision-making. With strong diversity in terms of size, business model, cultural contexts or markets they operate in, they share a common goal; to use finance to meet their communities’ needs and create a positive impact.
