We, the SBI Shinsei Bank Group, define sustainability management as aiming for a virtuous cycle between “long-term contribution to the environment, society, and customers through our business” and “sustainable growth of our group”. As the core banking group of the SBI Group, we consider solving environmental and social issues as one of the most important management issues, based on the idea that “public benefit leads to private benefit.” We actively promote sustainability management, recognizing the framework for solving social issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.
In contributing to the environment, society, and customers through our business, we maximize the “catalytic” function of finance. With the power of finance, we connect organizations and individuals who are working on various problem-solving or facing challenges, to create new values and to make our customers’ businesses, lives, and ultimately the environment and society better. To achieve this, we fully utilize various functions of the SBI Group, evolve and grow ourselves, and create more values with broader diversity.
In addition, we believe that the success and growth of our employees are the source of value creation for our customers/society and the sustainable growth of our Group. We, therefore, emphasize the improvement of human resource value, respect each individual’s career development and spirit of challenge. We promote creation of a sought-after organization where all employees can demonstrate their own capabilities and can see their own growth, with the sense of being motivated both in their work and personal life.
“The Group Sustainability Management Policy” is a basic policy for our sustainability management. Based on SBI Group's philosophy and the Basic Sustainability Principles, it is positioned as a subordinate regulation of “SBI Group Compliance Code of Conduct” and “the Charter of SBI Shinsei Bank Group Corporate Behavior.”
In promoting sustainability management, we thoroughly implement “Customer-centric Principle” and continue to work to reduce negative impacts and create/expand positive impacts on the environment and society.
We believe that environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity are becoming increasingly important year by year. To resolve these environmental issues, we actively work on providing investments/loans (green/transition finance, etc.) and financial products/services that contribute to decarbonization and reducing environmental burden, and on supporting the promotion of 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) and the circular economy. In addition, as a prerequisite for tackling environmental issues with our customers, we ourselves also promote environmentally conscious initiatives for energy use, procurement, and disposal.
We believe that many social issues are becoming more serious, such as the progression of regional disparities and of a declining birthrate and aging population, and the accompanying shortage of workers/successors and lack of/aging social infrastructure. To resolve these social issues, we strengthen our collaboration with regional financial institutions, corporations, and local governments, and actively develop social finance and business succession support.
As the people’s values and lifestyles diversify, we believe that there are emerging customer needs and issues that cannot be met by traditional financial products and services. To meet these diverse needs and issues, we expand support for investment, asset management, financial support for daily life, and convenient payments to as many customers as possible. At the same time, we provide customers with opportunities and choices for contributing to the environment and society through our financial products and services.
We believe that financial infrastructure is essential for maintaining and developing socio-economic activities. We continuously strengthen cybersecurity, data security, and anti-money laundering measures, and provide courteous customer service and prompt and accurate administrative procedures.
We believe that strengthening our organizational foundation is essential to grow sustainably and to continuously create more values with broader diversity for society. In addition to focusing on human resource value enhancement and respecting human rights of all stakeholders, we strengthen our corporate governance and risk management systems and fulfill the roles expected by society through collaboration with stakeholders.
(1) Respect for Human Rights
We believe that respect for human rights is a global standard of conduct expected of all companies and is a fundamental responsibility requirement for conducting corporate activities. We have established a "Group Human Rights Policy" based on international norms on human rights, clarifying that we respect the human rights of all people, including employees, and urging our customers and other stakeholders to respect human rights.
(2) Enhancement of Human Resource Value
We believe that human resources are the source of organizational growth, and in addition to respecting the human rights of our employees, we consider the enhancement of human resource value as one of the most important issues in strengthening our organizational foundation. In order for our employees, as our greatest assets, to fully demonstrate their capabilities and to continue growing together, we develop an environment for career formation through providing opportunities for learning through training and OJT, personnel rotation and intra-group recruitment and so on. We seek to promote system and culture building to become a company where diverse talents are accepted and can grow through their work while choosing a flexible and efficient way of working according to their life stages and life events, and high performance is demonstrated as a team.
(i) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
We aim to create an organization where each employee can work with satisfaction and work fairly, regardless of attributes such as age, gender, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. We also actively support initiatives for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion that drive transformation into a better society.
(ii) Health and Productivity Management, Well-being
We value the safety of life, mental and physical health, securing of living standards and economic stability, job satisfaction, and motivation for self-realization of our employees. We promote health and productivity management and the well-being of each employee.
(iii) Improvement of Employee Engagement
We promote the creation of an attractive organization as a workplace by enhancing communication with employees and developing the environment so that each employee can contribute voluntarily to and take initiatives actively in the organization and his or her own work.
(1) Collaboration with Stakeholders
We believe that collaboration with our customers and other stakeholders is essential, and we endeavor to further improve and strengthen our initiatives through dialogue. We also work with stakeholders to solve environmental and social issues through engagement (constructive dialogue with a purpose). In particular, in investment and lending, we have established “Responsible Investment and Lending Policy" and endeavor to fulfill our social responsibility. In addition, we value the trust with stakeholders and continuously strengthen information disclosure in line with various domestic and international frameworks.
(2) Corporate Governance
We consider the enhancement of corporate governance as one of the most important management issues, and we continue to work to establish systems and processes for its enhancement.
SBI Shinsei Bank has established a corporate governance system as a company with an Audit & Supervisory Board and has formulated "Basic Policy for Corporate Governance." The Board of Directors, the highest decision-making body of management, makes decisions on important business execution and implements measures such as the development of an environment that supports appropriate risk-taking by senior management.
(3) Risk Management
In enhancing our risk management system, we believe that we also need to be prepared for sustainability-related risks arising from environmental and social issues. We further strengthen our risk management system by using various frameworks to check the impact of sustainability-related risks on us.
In investment and lending, we consider investment and lending to customers and businesses that do not appropriately respond to environmental impacts such as climate and ecosystems, as well as social impacts such as human rights, health, and safety, etc. as management risks. We manage them appropriately and realize responsible investment and lending.
(4) Prevention of Corruption
We believe that corporate activities must be conducted under the correct ethical values, and we have established internal regulations on employee activities and are committed to preventing all forms of corruption, including bribery. The bribery in this context includes not only what we conduct ourselves, but also what we make others conduct (those conducted through third parties, those we influence others to conduct, etc.) through intimidation, coercion, etc.
(5) Corporate Philanthropic Initiatives
In our corporate philanthropic initiatives, we have established "Group Policy for Promotion of Philanthropic Initiatives" and work actively in collaboration with partners and organizations we support. We endeavor to fulfill our role as a good corporate citizen that contributes to the development of a sustainable society and aim to be a group that is trusted by society.
The establishment, revision, and abolition of this policy shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. We regularly review this policy in order to continuously promote and enhance our sustainability management.
Enactment date: May 15, 2019
Amendment date: July 1, 2021
Amendment date: November 1, 2021
Amendment date: March 1, 2022
Amendment date: June 13, 2022
Amendment date: January 4, 2023
Amendment date: September 28, 2023
Amendment date: January 4, 2024
