The Media and Awareness Committee of Saudi Banks has announced that in 2022, Saudi banks invested and contributed over SAR 417M towards social responsibility initiatives in areas such as economics, education, health, and more.
The banks have worked on implementing systematic plans for sustainability in three dimensions: social, environmental, and economic, resulting in a positive impact on various sectors, including health, education, environment, community service, and charitable support. The education and health sectors have received the largest share of the contributions, benefiting around 4.5 million people across the Kingdom.
Additionally, about 2,500 bank employees volunteered approximately 25,000 hours in various projects during the year. The focus on sustainability and innovation has enhanced transparency and governance, defining clear performance indicators that improve the role and performance of banks, according to Saudi Gazette.
The social responsibility projects have positively impacted society, economy, environment, customers, employees, and stakeholders while supporting the government’s efforts to provide services and finance development projects. The projects contribute to achieving the objectives of the financial sector development program and align with the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Moreover, several studies confirm the existence of a clear positive relationship between the social responsibility of Saudi Banks and their financial performance, whether in terms of return on assets or return on equity, indicating that customers respond more actively to banks that play an influential role in corporate social responsibility projects and programs.
It is noteworthy that one of these studies, entitled “The Impact of Social Responsibility on the Financial Performance of the Banking Sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” calls for increasing social awareness of social responsibility in a way that benefits banks, their customers, its local community, and its financial performance.
