He Argentine Development Bank BICE published his Sustainability Report 2022 where he gives an account of its consolidation as a public financial tool for the promotion of country development and, at the same time, reaffirms its commitment to sustainabilitylas green finance and the concrete contributions for the fulfillment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Report presents data that demonstrates the fulfillment of these goals. The bank achieved credit growth of 17% -in inflation-adjusted values- compared to 2021 and more than 50% in the number of SMEs assisted. The increase was mainly explained by the disbursements earmarked for investment projects, with destinations such as the expansion and construction of industrial plants or improvements in production processes.
BICE promotes development with a long-term perspective, with special emphasis on strategic sectors that add value and promote a positive social and environmental impact. In this sense, the bank doubled the participation of companies led by women in its client portfolio in relation to the start of the measurement in 2018. And it allocated more than $7,500 million to energy efficiency projects of SMEs throughout the country.
The president of BICE, Mariano de Miguel, stated: “This document that we present to you as part of our commitment to transparency in management accounts for the bank’s economic, social and environmental performance. We believe that public management has to be a gold standard of quality and efficiency, and the pages of this document are proof of that”.
“One of the keys to achieving these objectives was the articulation with public and private sector entities. In particular, the work carried out together with the Secretariat of Industry and Productive Development for the management of more and better financing tools”, added de Miguel.
Carla Pitiot, vice president of BICE, referred to the importance of loans with a gender perspective: “The program for companies managed by women has two fundamental legs: on the one hand, they are the benefits linked to the rate, percentage of financing, years of grace, and, on the other, they are non-financial services such as training and the accompaniment of the cases”.
And I add: “There is an urgent need to strengthen the empowerment of women in the productive/industrial sphere, in regional economies and also in business management. From the bank we focus on SMEs, which are the productive engine of Argentina “.
The federal scope of the credits is another of the pillars of BICE’s strategy. More than 70% of the loans granted in 2022 were directed to regional economies located outside the Metropolitan Area.
The Report also gives an account of the work carried out together with the Secretariat of Industry and Productive Development for the placement of the Argentine Credit Program (CreAr) of the Ministry of Economy of the Nation. So far in 2023, loans for $50,000 million have already been managed and, given the great demand for the line, it was recently extended by $25,000 million more.
The scope of the credit offer with non-financial services to assist companies and accelerate their growth is also highlighted. As the digital financial education platform for SMEs, which offers various resources, such as training and seminars.
