Sustainability / Strategy / Impacts
George Koshy
Sustainability Officer
Our Commitment
Our 5-year strategic plan is based on uab bank’s longer term vision as a socially responsible financial services provider.
No poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being of all people are some of the aims of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs are interrelated, and the Bank looks to contribute to the achievement of the goals.
At uab, we have identified 4 SDGs in which we can contribute meaningfully and have the most impact in supporting the goals. Accordingly, we have short term and mid-term targets for each SDG. We are committed to meet these goals and are devoting significant resources to this end.
Based on our materiality assessment and four (4) identified SDG goals, the following is the status of key targets and impact:
Key Sustainability Impact Areas
| Impact Areas | Our Approach |
|---|---|
| Financial Inclusion (SDG 8) |
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| Job Creation and Enterprise Development (SDG 9) |
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| Employee Development and Training (SDG 4) |
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| Customer Satisfaction (SDG 3) |
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| Item | Target | Time Target | Achievement as at 30th Sept 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home ownership (SDG 8) | 10.5% of total loan portfolio | 30 September 2024 | As of 31st March 2022, the home finance portfolio made up 2.74% of the total loan portfolio. |
| Digital solutions (SDG 8) | Enabling customers to open an account through handheld devices. | App to be developed by 30 September 2020 with yearly incremental improvements. | uab bank’s digital app (uabpay) was successfully launched in 2020 and it is being developed into a Super app, enabling Customers to conduct their business without being at the Bank branch.
The following features have been developed:
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| Financial literacy (SDG 8) | Conduct at least 12 financial literacy sessions or projects per annum to unbanked, underbanked, and underserved individuals. | 30 September 2021 | Financial literacy (SDG 8) Conduct at least 12 financial literacy sessions or projects per annum to unbanked, underbanked, and underserved individuals 30 September 2024 Despite the COVID -19 and unstable political situation during the financial year, financial literacy outreach was conducted to educate people on inward remittances particularly with Western Union and RIA money transfers. This was successfully undertaken in 7 villages in the Tatkon/Naypitaw area, 2 villages in in Kyaukpadaung area and 1 village in the Pokkoku area.At each village, between 25 to 40 villagers attended the sessions and about 300 people were reached though the program. |
| Financing SME (SDG 9) | 26% of total loan portfolio | 30 September 2024 | As of 31st March 2022. SME financing made up 9.35% of the loan portfolio. 22.56% of SME financing were made through JICA 2-step loan program which provided preferential interest rates to reduce the cost of borrowing to these SMEs. |
| Training employees and development of talent (SDG 4) | A minimum of 30,000 man-hours of training to be provided each year | 30 September 2021 | For FY ending 31st March 2022, a total of 35,700 man-hours. In addition, during the short financial year, 17 students received work exposure as interns. |
| ESG Policy (SDG 3) | To formulate and thereafter implement an ESG policy. | Formulation by March 2023. Full implementation by March 2024. | Policy is presently on a work-in-progress basis. |
| Transparency (SDG 3) | Issue GRI Index and SASB Index. | Publication of index and to be completed by May 2020 and yearly reviews to be conducted. | The GRI and SASB Index has been successfully published by the Bank. The Bank’s Annual Reports and Sustainability Reports are now publicly available in the Bank’s website. The Bank also has voluntarily subscribed for Pwint Thit Sa (Transparency in Myanmar Enterprises) reviews conducted by the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business to ensure transparency. |
| Bancassurance (SDG 3) | Launch bancassurance by financial year 2021. | 1st phase to be launched by May 2021. | uab bank has partnered with Manulife to offer life insurance protection through the Bank’s bancassurance product. This is with effect from January 2021. As a 2nd phase, the Bank is finalising the negotiation with a General Insurance provider to offer general insurance products through a bancassurance scheme. |
| Item | Target | Time Target | Achievement (Sept 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homeownership | 10.5% of total loan portfolio | 30 September 2024 | 1.3% of total loan portfolio |
| Digital Solutions | Enabling customers to open an account through handheld devices | 30 September 2020 | The bank successfully launched the facility to open online bank account in April 2020 |
| Financial Literacy | Conduct at least 12 financial literacy sessions or projects per annum to unbanked, underbanked and underserved individuals | 30 September 2021 | In financial 2018-2019, 1366 individuals participated in financial inclusion initiatives for unbanked, underbanked, or underserved customers |
| SME Financing | 26% of total loan portfolio | 30 September 2024 | 10.1% of total loan portfolio |
| Training to employees | 15,000 man-hours of training to be provided by the financial year ending on 30 September 2021 | 30 September 2021 | 9,106 man-hours of training was provided during the financial year ended on 30 September 2019 |
| Formulation and Implementation of ESG Policy | To formulate and thereafter implement an ESG policy | Formulation by March 2021. Full implementation by March 2024 | MOU with WWF was signed in February 2020 for technical support for the formulation and implementation of the Policy. |
| Conduct | To hold refresher trainings/briefings to staff and adopt zero tolerance to employee fraud and misconduct | September 2020 | All new employees are briefed on the Code of Ethics and other codes during their orientation. 234 existing employees were provided with training/briefing concerning Anti-money laundering, Anti-bribery & Corruption, Code of Ethics, and other codes over FY 2019. Four (4) Risk Newsletters were published and distributed to all employees and members of the Board over FY 2019 emphasising the important of conduct to strengthen the Risk culture of the Bank. The Disciplinary Committe handled 25 cases in FY 2019. |
| Transparency | Issue GRI Index and SASB Index | May 2020 | GRI&SASB Index |
Some of our Non-financial Key Performance Indicators are available in the link below and they cover:
You can find more on KPIs here:
Non-Financial KPIs
- Employee engagement
- Turnover
- Absenteeism rate
- Health & Safety
- Frequency rate/Fatality Rate
- Training
- Career Development
- Equal Opportunity
- Disability
- Environmental issues
- Societal responsibilities
You can find more on KPIs here:
Non-Financial KPIs
Activities that serve the greater good of the community are prioritised at uab bank. A short report on the following topics is available in the link below:
You can read more on our non-financial activities here:
Non-Financial Activities
- Customer health & safety
- Supplier/Contractor selection and criteria
- Environmental friendly value chain
- Interaction with communities
- Anti-corruption programme and procedures
- Creditor rights
- Central Bank of Myanmar Directives
- Operational Incident Reporting mechanism
You can read more on our non-financial activities here:
Non-Financial Activities