RBS 2009 Annual Report Download - page 47

45RBS Group Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Corporate Sustainability
Did you know?
60%
The share of UK secondary
schools where our MoneySense
for Schools programme had a
presence in 2009.
•We launched the UK’s first mobile phone banking application for
the iPhone for NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank (Northern Ireland).
Thousands of customers already use mobile phone banking to check
their balance directly from their mobile handset and this is the next
step to develop this service.
Financial education
Understanding how financial products and services work is an important
life skill for anybody – we want everyone to have the confidence to make
the right financial decisions.
•Our award-winning MoneySense programme was extended to ensure
that everyone has access to sound and impartial money guidance.
In 2009, MoneySense for Schools had a presence in nearly 60% of
UK secondary schools.
•We launched YouthBank MoneySense in Ireland through Ulster Bank,
with a €150,000 financial learning fund provided as part of the initiative.
•The Citizens Charitable Foundation provided approximately $1 million
to support more than 300 financial literacy initiatives throughout our
footprint in America.
Financial inclusion
Ensuring that everyone has access to financial services has long been
a priority of The RBS Group.
•In 2009, numerous communities were impacted by unprecedented
flooding and we took immediate action to send mobile banks so that
customers had continued access to banking services.
•We announced a £5 million loan fund, ring-fenced to support third
sector providers of affordable credit to help individuals.
•We are working with the Government to deliver the Saving Gateway
scheme in 2010, aimed at helping people on low incomes and
benefits develop a savings habit.
•In Ireland, we extended our offering to first-time home buyers by
teaming up with Habitat for Humanity. This programme offers
customers with a housing need the opportunity to step on the property
ladder in an affordable manner.
Supporting enterprise
This covers how we help businesses get started, how we support
those who get into difficulty, our investment in social enterprise and our
Microfinance programme.
•In November 2009, we launched a Customer Charter for small and
medium-sized enterprises, which focused on four key areas: helping
businesses to start and grow; providing access to finance; fairness
and transparency on pricing; and transparency when making
lending decisions.
•Through Coutts Wealth Management, we have one of the largest
networks of successful entrepreneurs in the UK and, in 2009, Coutts
launched a programme to support clients who would like to get more
involved and make a significant impact in the social enterprise sector.
•In 2009, 46 RBS group employees provided direct support to young
entrepreneurs across Scotland either as volunteer Panel Members or
Aftercare Advisers with the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust.
•Our Microfinance lending programme in India continues to go from
strength to strength. Widening financial access for more than two
million households in rural areas relying on robust and creditworthy
Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) as a distribution network.
Employee engagement
The engagement of our employees depends on giving our people an
environment at work that encourages them to go the extra mile for our
customers. It is influenced by how we recruit, motivate and support our
people, focusing on issues such as diversity, training and reward.
•Remuneration is one of the most challenging issues that RBS
currently faces, and one which has a significant impact on employee
engagement. In response to this, we have revised our reward
framework. For more information on this, please see the letter from the
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee.