SeABank was recognised as one of Vietnam's Top 100 Sustainable Businesses for the sixth time

DNHN - Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank) received recognition for the sixth time as one of the Top 100 Sustainable Enterprises in Vietnam on December 13, 2023, at the Vietnam Sustainable Enterprises 2023 Announcement Ceremony.

The Vietnam Confederation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) held the Announcement Ceremony of Vietnam Sustainable Enterprises 2023 recently. Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank, stock code: SSB) was recognised for the sixth time as one of the Top 100 Sustainable Enterprises in Vietnam (CSI 100). This is in appreciation of the Bank's exceptional work in preserving the momentum of growth, making the most use of its people resources, and carrying out sustainable development initiatives. Additionally, SeABank continues to provide VND 500 million to the Bright Tomorrow Cancer Patient Support Fund to lift the spirits of underprivileged cancer patients and provide them with greater incentives.

More than 500 enterprises are interested in registering for this year's programme to analyse and declare sustainable businesses in Vietnam (CSI 2023); of those, 159 have undergone preliminary evaluation. Having met numerous rigorous evaluation standards, SeABank is proud to be listed as one of Vietnam's Top 100 Sustainable Businesses. The Bank has received this esteemed award for the sixth time. The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Central Economic Commission, and VCCI coordinate the organisation of the CSI 100 programme.

This year, the expert council assessed the programme and found it to be a thorough reform in terms of numerous production and business operations of firms' structure, clarity, accessibility, and quantification. CSI 2023 has 130 indicators, of which 63% are compliance indicators and 37% are advanced. It is separated into 7 parts, as opposed to the previous version's 3 parts. More precisely, the CSI 2023 Index combines quantitative measures to assess how firms are developing sustainably over three years, from 2020 to 2022, in the areas of the economy, society, and environment.

SeABank has worked tirelessly to improve its ESG framework in recent years to become the most well-liked retail bank by fusing social responsibility and commercial growth. By implementing a customer-centric approach and consistently improving convenience-focused products, SeABank has shown that it has a growing awareness of its customers and strives to provide them with a great experience when utilising the Bank's financial services.

SeABank is pleased that over its existence, it has consistently added value for its clients while also having a beneficial social influence on the neighbourhood. Held yearly since 2018, the SeABank Run for The Future (SeARun) is one of the successful brand positioning initiatives of SeABank. The race has drawn thousands of professional and amateur participants as partners and customers in its five years of operation. This year, the competition took place entirely online, attracting close to 10,000 competitors and over 2.1 million kilometres throughout the three stages. SeABank brings together runners and supporters through the event to work together to raise money and plant 25,000 new black star trees in Dak Lak. Simultaneously, SeABank's Dream Nurturing Study Encouragement Fund awarded ten kids lifetime scholarships worth approximately one billion dong to help them pursue their academic goals in high school.

In addition, SeABank kept up its 500 million VND donation to the Bright Tomorrow Cancer Patient Support Fund in December 2023 to inspire underprivileged people to overcome their illnesses and maintain their faith in the possibility of a better future. Since 2019, SeABank has taken a yearly amount from transaction fees paid by holders of SeALady Visa and SeALady MasterCard cards to benefit underprivileged patients. The Bank will deduct 2,000 VND from each transaction to help women who are suffering from thyroid, breast, or cervical cancer, among other cancers. SeABank has contributed close to 3 billion VND in total to the Bright Tomorrow Fund.

Furthermore, SeABank prioritises community development by providing useful support to community-based organisations across the country. With a total expenditure of nearly 39 billion VND, the Bank has carried out several significant social security initiatives in 2023. These initiatives include: providing funding for the construction of charity houses for the underprivileged in Ha Tinh, Dien Bien, and Nghe An, amounting to 35 billion VND; implementing annual social charity initiatives like Spring of Love, SeABankers For Children, and SeABank For Green Life nationwide, which offer a variety of activities to support impoverished children, orphans, patients, and the elderly as well as environmental cleanup, tree planting, and blood donation, etc.

Hanh Nguyen