Banreservas’ president Samuel Pereyra would argue that as a state-owned bank, all of its activities are led by a sense of corporate responsibility. Its loan portfolios are directed towards providing credit to industries targeted as crucial for the Dominican economy’s growth and its recent international expansion has been developed to facilitate financing flows between the country and its large international diaspora.
The bank has been very successful in combining these objectives with profitability and has also been evolving standalone projects related to financial and social inclusion. These merit individual recognition as standout examples of how financial institutions in Latin America can improve the lives of many in the communities in which they operate.
Banreservas’ Bancarizar es Patria initiative promotes a savings culture to develop sustainable economic wellbeing by enabling Dominicans to join or reintegrate with the financial system. The programme focuses on delivering financial education and culture workshops. Banreservas developed a specific day for Bancarizar es Patria in 2023 and included talks and workshops on financial education for adults, with the emphasis on opening savings accounts or Mio Banreservas electronic payment accounts. In total Banreservas estimates that 646,000 Domincans have been brought into (or back into) the financial system through this outreach programme.
A separate outreach has also been launched to help entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs through its Cree Banreservas programme. This initiative aims to support the sustainable development of new business plans through specialized technical mentoring and introducing and integrating them within the local entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Banreservas’ projects merit recognition as standout examples of how financial institutions in Latin America can improve the lives of many in the communities in which they operate
In 2023 the bank selected five projects for investment capital up to Ps4.2 million ($71 million). These projects were included in an acceleration programme that is designed to provide comprehensive support to entrepreneurs and enhance their probability of market success. The acceleration programme provides intense, strategic mentoring and access to specialist advice and, to date, the programme has evaluated more than 4,000 projects and delivered more than 600 events to help to develop the Dominican Republic’s micro-organization sector.
Banreservas has also launched a Banreservas Accesible project to promote the implementation of policies and procedures to guarantee access to job opportunities for people with disabilities. The programme is segmented by topic, age group and ability.
The bank has also been actively promoting its voluntary programme around protection of the country’s environment, using its own human capital to develop activities and projects.
Banreservas has also identified the unique role that sport has in boosting the social infrastructure available to local communities, as well as promoting wellness. The bank donated $3.2 million for the remodelling and construction of sports infrastructure, such as basketball courts and baseball fields, with a further $2.9 million in 2023 to boost the availability of baseball, $1.1 million to basketball and $523,000 to football.
