Latin America's best bank for corporate responsibility 2018: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Under Thiago Fernandes, head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) for Latin America, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is changing the way corporate philanthropy operates in Brazil; this year it wins Euromoney’s award for Latin America’s best bank for corporate responsibility. 

Fernandes’ NGO background ensures that in community and employee engagement every measurement is considered to ensure the greatest impact.

Take its work with United Way in Brazil to develop a financial education game for children from seven to 15 years old in schools in low-income areas. The game underwent extensive testing with teachers and 20,000 students to ensure it would be effective and sustainable. 

After just six months, 77% of the schools performed better in financial knowledge and now the project is expanding to a further 10,000 students – with the possibility of creating a low-cost version that could become a social enterprise and used in other countries.

Saving is one of the most important elements in financial inclusion in developing markets and is often ignored.

“Many people don’t know what saving is because they’ve never had money,” says Fernandes.