ProCredit Bank joins the Charter on Financial Inclusion and Reintegration of Veterans

ProCredit Bank has joined the Charter on Financial Inclusion and Reintegration of Veterans (hereinafter referred to as the “Charter”), which was initiated by the National Bank of Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development under a joint Memorandum of Understanding.

The Memorandum between the NBU and the EBRD envisages the cooperation of the institutions to ensure financial sector cohesion in implementing standards for inclusive activities and services as well as the introduction of initiatives to provide support and aid the re-socialisation of war veterans in Ukraine.

The standards set out in the Charter aim to make banks more accessible to hundreds of thousands of veterans – both clients and employees.

“The Charter is an efficient tool that will unite banks around the issue of helping veterans and their families. The opportunities of civilians and veterans should be equal. I am confident that together with the EBRD and the entire banking system, we will be able to successfully promote the availability and inclusiveness of financial services for all citizens,” commented the chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyshnyy.

By joining the Charter, ProCredit Bank has demonstrated its commitment to adopting inclusive policies, reintegrating war veterans and transforming its business to ensure equal access to financial services for all clients equally.

The war has led to a loss of qualified staff in Ukraine: several million citizens are now living abroad or are internally displaced, and hundreds of thousands more are serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A key element in planning the country’s future economic resilience is to strengthen its human assets by encouraging more citizens to return to Ukraine and find gainful employment.

“The signing of the Charter is an important step in supporting veterans returning from war and adapting to civilian life. ProCredit Bank belongs to an international banking group that makes social responsibility one of its key business principles. In our commitment to the financial inclusion and reintegration of war veterans, we are guided not only by our moral principles, but also by our desire to meet high international standards of inclusion. We are grateful to our Armed Forces for making it possible for us to continue living and working in Ukraine and we will do everything in our power to ensure convenient access to all the financial services offered by our bank,” comments Viktor Ponomarenko, General Manager.

In particular, in order to implement the Charter, ProCredit Bank will introduce initiatives designed to:

make financial services more accessible and inclusive for veterans so that they can access and use them equally remove obstacles that may prevent veterans from returning to work by introducing inclusive HR policies and practices in the financial sector provide safe workplaces, i.e., without triggers and risks, for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder improve accessibility to support veteran clients and employees through the use of modified equipment or devices, in addition to physical modifications to the workplace and premises support clients who run businesses that employ or serve veterans in becoming more inclusive and accessible.