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Banking on Cooperative Values

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2025

"Just transition": Addressing the social and economic impacts on societies in the race for a climate-resilient economy

“Just transition” is a crucial approach to ensure that the shift towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy is fair and inclusive.
Addressing the social and economic impacts on workers, communities, and vulnerable populations becomes essential to raise the awareness among communities on probable unfamiliar and indirect consequences.
Embracing just transition principles is particularly important for cooperative banks as it aligns with their core values and presents an opportunity to support theirmembers and communities through this significant economic transformation.

Guest speaker: Lishia Erza (Entrepreneur, Sustainability Advocate, Business Mentor)

2024

MODO: Digital wallet - A joint response from banks to enhance user experience by Banco Credicoop (Argentina)

MODO is a digital wallet developed four years ago by more than 30 banks, with the goal of promoting financial inclusion by simplifying processes for users and allowing them to consolidate payment transactions and money transfers quickly and securely.

Guest speakers: Nelson Pereira: Personal Banking Manager (Banco Credicoop)

Trade Finance in Africa - Case study by Banque Centrale Populaire Morocco

Trade Finance in Africa is vital for supporting international trade activities but faces significant challenges. Commercial banks play a key role in bridging the finance gap by offering products for International Financial institutions allowing them to mitigate the African Risk. Additionally, to address these challenges, Banque Centrale Populaire has stepped in by offering a range of products to support the trade activity of its subsiduaries in Sub Saharan Africa. These initiatives help local banks extend trade finance services to corporate and medium and small businesses which form the backbone of many economies in the region.

Guest speakers: Mamoun El Amrani Joutey: Director Correspondent Banking Financial Institutions (Group BCP)

Open Finance in the digital age - Banco Cooperativo Coopcentral’s vision for the future (Colombia)

In the regulatory compliance framework, Open Finance in Colombia and globally has drastically evolved and trends have been developing at high speed. Moreover, Artificial Intelligence cannot be dissociated anymore from Open Finance in the financial industry. AI and data analysis improve constantly large volumes of the financial data management. This SPARK shows in specific examples how Banco Coopcentral uses AI to enhance its Open Finance and adapts its Security and Risk Management accordingly facing Cybersecurity challenges and threats.

Guest speakers: Ronny Ramirez Garcia: Vice President of Operations and Technology (Banco Cooperativo Coopcentral)

Establishment of the digital euro from the perspective of Co-operative Banks (ÖGV, Austria)

This CIBP SPARK session focuses on the establishment of the digital euro and its implications for cooperative banks. Ismail Akbal discusses the digital revolution, highlighting the rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in response to cryptocurrencies and the European Central Bank’s (ECB) efforts towards creating a digital euro to ensure central bank money remains a legal tender.

Guest speaker: Ismail Akbal: Adviser Regulatory Affairs (ÖGV)

The importance of Service experience in the financial industry for cooperative banks and credit unions (COOPEUCH, Chile)

The CIBP SPARK session highlighted COOPEUCH’s innovative “phygital approach,” which combines digital and physical banking services to cater to its diverse membership, now totaling 1.2 million. This strategy has proven particularly effective outside Santiago (Chile), appealing to members over 50 year old who value in-person interactions, despite the rise in digital transactions to 22 million in 2023.

See below for abstract, summary, keypoints and glossary.

Guest speaker:

Carlos Ignacio Orella Laurent: Strategic Planning and Experience Manager (COOPEUCH)

Socially accountable – How the German Cooperative Banking Group joins economic goals with social policies (BVR, Germany)

Cooperative banks have a history of balancing financial success with social responsibility, with BVR being the umbrella organization for the sector in Germany. The importance of balancing financial success with social responsibility in the cooperative banking sector is underscored, with a focus on sustainability management and community engagement through sponsorship projects.

See below for abstract, summary, keypoints and glossary.

Guest speakers: Melanie Schmergal: Head of Communications and Public Relations (BVR)

From Trends to Products - Strategic Innovation Management in DZ BANK (Germany)

DZ Bank, part of the cooperative financial network in Germany, has a customer-oriented approach to banking,. The bank’s innovation process involves identifying trends, researching, and implementing innovative products, showcasing their commitment to innovation and strategic management in the financial sector. The innovation lab has run over 50 Prototyping labs, diversifying their portfolio of formats to explore trends and develop initial ideas.

See below for abstract, summary, keypoints and glossary.

Guest speakers: Michael Migendt: Associate Director of Innovation & Digitalization (DZ BANK) and Bastian Stahl: Senior Consultant Digitalization & Innovation (DZ BANK)

Financial literacy around the world by Sicoob (Brazil)

The Global Financial Literacy Survey reveals that only 33% of adults worldwide are financially literate, with varying levels of financial literacy across countries. Men tend to be more financially literate than women, and wealthier individuals are more financially literate than poorer individuals. These gaps exist in both advanced and emerging economies. The survey emphasizes the importance of interventions, such as financial education programs, to improve financial behavior and well-being.

See below for abstract, summary, keypoints and glossary.

Guest speaker: Louize Pereira Oliveira: Supervisor at Sicoob Insititute, Brazil, Researcher at University of São Paulo, Brazil
Guest speaker: Johanne Amestonn: Director of Cooperative Strategy, Training and RSE

The (internal) perception of the Cooperative business model : The results of FNBP’s thorough survey with nearly 9000 employees from the 14 Banques Populaires by FNBP (France)

The cooperative model is at the heart of the Banques Populaires, and the members are its pillars. Since 1878, the bank’s leaders and employees embody and carry this model, at the service of our members and customers. 

A first cooperative survey, carried out in the beginning of 2023, was intended for all employees of the 14 Popular Banks. Nearly 9000 answers and more than 23 000 verbatims gave us a better idea of the understanding and attachment of Banques Populaires employees to this model.

The survey also enabled us to adapt the training and information programs they ask for, in addition to the roadmap formalized by the leaders of the popular banks cooperative dynamic. The principle remains to go further together: “add strengths and multiply chances”, more than ever.

2023

Guest speakers:

Claudio Cauzillo: Manager of Commercial and Analytical Management (GCOA)

Hernán Piceni: Head of the Commercial Management Department of the GCOA

The power of inclusion in times of crisis by Banco Credicoop (Argentina)

Banco Credicoop fosters a supportive and collaborative culture to promote the sustained growth of its role as a cooperative of social transformation.

In this sense and associated with changes in habits in the ways we connect, we understand our labor inclusion policy as one of the axes of this transformation. And we consider the reassignment of tasks and the development of new skills as a way to materialize it.

We will share our learnings in this SPARK.

Guest speaker: Tedd George: Master of Ceremony, Moderator of CIBP 30th Congress

Key takeaways from the 30th CIBP Congress in Paris: Turning a new page in cooperative banking (UK)

Following the holding of the CIBP’s 30th CIBP CONGRESS in Paris, we will reflect on the highlights and key takeaways from the event.

The Congress was a unique opportunity to bring together our members, their leadership and a selection of hand-picked experts to share insights and best practice on cooperative banks.

Offering you a SPARK about the CIBP’s largest gathering in eight years is our way of saying thank you, sharing our learnings from the Congress and igniting debate among all our Members on the future of cooperative banking.

Guest speaker: Ronny Ramirez Garcia: Vice President of IT and Digital Banking (Banco Cooperativo Coopcentral)

AI and Open Finance - The Key to Cybersecurity in the Financial Sector by Ronny Ramirez García (Banco Cooperativo Coopcentral - Colombia)

AI and Open Finance are the technologies that are revolutionizing the financial sector.

AI can detect and prevent cyber-attacks, while Open Finance can improve the security of financial data.Together, these technologies can help financial institutions protect their clients and their cyber offenders’ data.

For example, AI can be used to analyze large quantities of data in real time and detect patterns of activity. Open Finance, on its part, can help financial institutions to compare secure form data, which can facilitate the detection of fraud and the interchange of information between institutions.

The adoption of these technologies is fundamental so that the financial sector remains secure and protected in the future.

Guest speaker: Gabriel Lombet: Member of the executive committee of Banque CPH, in charge of Retail and Marketing

Small is beautiful Simple is efficient by Gabriel Lombet CPH Banque (Belgium)

How can a cooperative bank of 220 people find its place in the banking market and offer its customers a high-quality and appropriate customer experience?

Employing 220 people and with only 28 agencies, how can Banque CPH find its place in the banking market and offer its customers a high-quality service and satisfying experience ?

Discover the key figures of Banque CPH to better understand who we are. What are the pillars of our organisation which help combine a high-quality service to our customers (explaining how quality is defined) with being profitable, controlling our costs and creating motivation within teams?

Can our model be inspiring for other CIBP members ?

Guest speaker: Henriqueta Chaves: Manager of Human Resources

(Re)structuring of People Management Strategies: The Challenges and Achievements of the HR Team by Sicoob (Brazil)

Since 2020, the entities that make up the third level of the Sicoob structure have carried out a movement to unify practices and policies.

The HR area played a fundamental role in this process, establishing programs, actions and artifacts that promote unity for people management.

Third Level of the Sicoob Structure means Sicoob Cooperative Centre, which includes:

  • A confederation;
  • A cooperative bank;
  • An institute focused on strategic social investment;
  • A distributor of securities;
  • A processor and flag of cards;
  • A pre-purchase financing pool administrator;
  • A complimentary private pension plan entity;
  • A life insurance and social security company.
Guest speaker: Monika Tögel: Sustainability Officer for the Association of Volksbanks in Austria, Certified CSR Expert

Sustainability as a company's DNA - practical example based on a regional cooperative bank by VOLKSBANK WIEN (Austria)

After introducing the Association of Volksbanks in Austria the path of implementing sustainability – from paper to reality – will be shown in this SPARK.

This includes the sustainability principles of Volksbank Association in Austria, the process of materiality analysis, communication and how the “Project Sustainability” was built up, successfully completed and the integration of sustainability into all areas and processes of Volksbank Association was reached.

Guest speaker: Pedro Murua: CFO, Responsible for Cooperative’s financial management, including the funding initiatives in local and international markets, COOPEUCH, Chile

The relationship with the Regulator: How Chilean cooperatives remain competitive under strong regulation measures (Part II) by COOPEUCH (Chile)

In a more global world, cooperatives usually participate in the same market with banks, helping to develop of the capital markets and countries where they are.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to imagine the rules applied are not the same just because the different nature of the entities.

Chile, despite of being one of the more developed country in the region, is a good example of this. Central Bank liquidity facilities, including the window discount Access, are reserved only for banks.

This is worst, if we consider rating agencies apply the same worldwide banking methodology to qualify all entities, punishing Chilean cooperatives and its ratings with all reputation and finance consequences.

We will talk about the importance of the regulation and the way that Chilean cooperatives have found to maintain competitiveness, despite unfair rules imposed, and how they have been working with the authorities pursuing a structural change in the system.

Guest speaker: Mrs. Marie-Véronique Bryon: Senior Project Manager, Finances & Pédagogie, BPCE Group, France, & Mrs. Louize Oliveira: Financial Citizenship Supervisor, Sicoob Insititute, Brazil

Financial Education : Comparing Cases in Brazil and France

According to OECD, “Financial literacy can contribute to global economic growth and sustainable development by improving financial inclusion and well-being”.

In France, Finances & Pédagogie has the main objective to provide training programmes on financial literacy. With an experience of more than 70 years, it plays a major action in France delivering workshops on a large range of topics such as household budgeting, banking relations, consumer credit, savings, and others to all kinds of people from students to the retired, from workers to entrepreneurs, from social workers to teachers.

In Brazil, Financial Education is a topic of Public Politics. Financial Education is a transversal discipline of Brazilian regular schools, specifically for children from 6 to 14 years old. Therefore, Sicoob has launched a program called “Financinhas nas Escolas” to support teachers to introduce Financial Education at regular schools, including a Children’s Book Collection published by Sicoob Institute in Portuguese, Pomeranian, English, and Spanish.

Guest speaker: Carlos Eduardo Primão: IT Development Manager

SICOOB Moob : Communication Optimization (Brazil)

Moob is the SICOOB application that facilitates and encourages contact between the member and his cooperative.

With it, it is possible to access the main data of the institution, receive and manage invitations to events, negotiate published goods and much more.

SICOOB Moob has different features like:

My Cooperative, complying with the principles of transparency towards the member, allowing quick access to updated information about the institution, large numbers and total assets.

Business Community, enabling the announcement and negotiation of goods, products and others.
Event Management of events from your cooperative through the mobile application.

News Feed, following the news on the most diverse subjects: technology, culture, economy, new services, lines of credit, agriculture and much more.

Guest speaker: Laurence Moret: External Communication, Institutional Partnerships and Documentary Director

Crédit Coopératif: A socially committed cooperative bank (France)

Crédit Coopératif enjoys benchmark status for entities in the social and solidarity-based economy, for enterprises in the ‘real’ economy, and for citizens sharing the same humanist vision of the world and society, stands committed with its customers/cooperative shareholders to building an economic environment that is more equitable, more solidarity-based, more locally present, and more respectful of the natural environment.

2022

Guest speaker: Eduardo Ciancio : Executive Director Fundacion Banco Credicoop

Diverpymex: Argentinian Export Promotion Program (Argentina)

DIVERPYMEX is a program with a continuity of more than 20 years that continues to be a fundamental support for those who want to export or set up the foreign trade area of their company.

Training is an essential tool for those who wish to be updated and to increase their competitiveness through greater knowledge.

About Banco Credicoop Foundation: Its main objective is to promote the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and increase their competitiveness. With an experience of more than 25 years, the Foundation provides services aimed at achieving a greater insertion of companies in the market.

Guest speaker: Pascal Coopens : Author, Keynote Speaker, Sinologist and technology Enterpreneur

China's new Normal: Transition around Leadership in uncertain times (Belgium)

By 2030, China wants to become the world leader in innovation. Recently, we saw Xi Jinping securing a third term while sticking with a covid-zero policy that has imipacted China’s economy. Is China’s New Normal a return to a more isolated country from the world or did China take another step closer to become an innovation powerhouse?

Pascal’s keynote “China’s New Normal” gives a clear insight into the modern China by reflecting on China’s circles of trust and the constant change coming from the fast and furious innovators of China. These past 3 years, while Beijing’s political stories were breaking news, we often forgot to watch China’s ongoing radical innovation momentum in building smarter cities, a FinTech 2.0 industry, an ecological society and much more.
As ever more radical innovation will come from China, this eye-opening keynote is a treat to anyone who is concerned with disruption and excited about the opportunity, This keynote will elaborate on the trends and strengths of innovation in China, and what we can learn from business leaders in China to survive in a world of uncertainty.

Guest speaker: Stefan Resetarits : Regulartory Affairs ÖGV, Austria

The Role of Renewable Energy Cooperatives in the Climate Transformation in Austria

With the newly adopted Renewable Energy Expansion Act which entered into force at the end of July 2021, Austria aims to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement 2015. 

The act creates new framework conditions for the expansion of renewable energy in Austria. New actors were introduced to the energy market in Austria. One of them ist the Renewable Energy Community (EEG), which can also be established as a cooperative. An EEG can produce electricity from renewable energy sources and consume, sell or store this electricity.
In order to create new business opportunities and do its part in the transition to a climate neutral economy, ÖGV has formed an cooperation with PowerSolution, a provider of technical assistance to EEGs and the Volksbanken, which can offer the finanical means and banking services to establish an EEG and expand its production of electricity.

What is the purpose of an EEG, who can be its members and what are the advantages for the members? All this will be covered during the session.

Guest speaker: Mathieu Desmet : Head of IT and Payments Board Member Banque CPH, Belgium

Adopting the Agile Mindset in Product Development (Belgium)

In a fast-changing and volatile world, it is important that organisations like banks are flexible enough to respond quickly to evolutions.

The Agile methodology is a proven project management approach in software development with a high level of adaptability to unforeseen changes.
The iterative process with focus on delivering a working product at the end of every cycle and with constant user feedback during development process, makes this methodology also suitable for the development of all kind of financial products or banking applications.

Guest speaker: Pedro Murua : CFO, Responsible for Cooperative’s financial management, including the funding initiatives in local and international markets, COOPEUCH

The COOPEUCH relationship with the Regulator (Chile)

How Chilean cooperatives remain competitive under strong regulation measures

In a more global world, cooperatives usually participate in the same market with banks, helping to develop of the capital markets and countries where they are.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to imagine the rules applied are not the same just because the different nature of the entities.

Chile, despite of being one of the more developed country in the region, is a good example of this. Central Bank liquidity facilities, including the window discount Access, are reserved only for banks.

This is worst, if we consider rating agencies apply the same worldwide banking methodology to qualify all entities, punishing Chilean cooperatives and its ratings with all reputation and finance consequences.

This CIBP SPARK reminds us about the importance of the regulation and the way that Chilean cooperatives have found to maintain competitiveness, despite unfair rules imposed, and how they have been working with the authorities pursuing a structural change in the system.

Guest speakers: Louize Pereira Oliveira: Financial Citizenship Supervisor Sicoob Insititute & Marcelo J. Angulo, : Head of Division, Department for Financial Citizenship Promotion Central Bank of Brazil

SICOOB's Financial Capacity Agenda and Brazil Central Bank's on promoting Financial Education (Brazil)

How both organizations’ approach to engaging Financial Service Providers.

BCB launched a strategic agenda on financial education for financial service providers to integrate financial education into their day-to-day operations and interactions with consumers.

According to the report published by Money and Pensions Service, “Financial capability is the ability to manage money well – both day-to-day and through significant life events. Capability comprises more than just skills knowledge. It also encompasses behaviors, attitudes, motivations, and the degree of connection to the financial system”. 

In Brazil, more than 50% of families are in indebtedness situations, according to the data published by Central Bank in November 2021.

In addition, the Central Bank published a special recommendation – to all financial institution – with principles to promote the financial capacity.

In consonance with all of this, Sicoob approved the Financial Capacity Agenda that has been developed in collaboration by a group of high-level professionals from several areas at Sicoob. 

Guest speaker: Clarisse Simonek: ESG Advisor and Specialist, Co-Founder WeESG

ESG's Biodiversity, the next climate for financial institutions (UK)

Biodiversity is the new Climate: The Dutch Bank conducted a review of the exposure of the Dutch financial system to biodiversity loss. The results were surprising.

The G7 recently nodded to a global framework against which corporates and financial instructions would report on how they are mitigating the risk of biodiversity loss. The framework, TNFD, is the ‘sister’ of the TCFD, Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, which is increasingly made mandatory by various financial regulators.

Biodiversity could become the next climate for financial institutions.

Join us to understand why, how, and most importantly, the potential implications for risk management and commercial opportunities. 

Guest speaker: Ricardo Eyer Harris: Head of Deputy Governor’s Office, Central Bank of Brazil

The Sustainability Agenda of the Central Bank of Brazil

In September 2020, the Central Bank of Brazil included a new sustainability pillar in its institutional agenda, the BC# Agenda, signaling the importance of this topic in the scope of its legal mandate to seek price and financial stability. 

At the end of last year, new regulations were published, improving the prudential framework for the management of social, environmental and climate risks by financial institutions and creating new requirements for transparency on the opportunities and risks related to the topic.

Another important initiative was the development of a sustainable rural credit bureau, an initiative that will reduce the asymmetry of information in this segment, allowing the offer of more favorable and diversified conditions of access to credit by rural producers.

Guest speaker: Tariq Noori: Department Head Group Strategy / Sustainability, DZ BANK, Germany, Panel member of the Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster.

Financial Sustainability - How can Sustainable transformation of our economy succeed? (Germany)

DZ BANK’s Key Role to play in the Sustainability Transformation of the Real Economy. As the topic of Sustainability has grown continuously over the past decades; it seems vital for cooperative and popular banks to also focus on how they can support Customers and the Economy while complying to Regulatory basis.

However, a sustainable economy can only succeed if the green transformation encompasses all sectors and companies with a holistic approach:
Ø  Focusing solely on already green companies, economic activities and technologies is misleading, as this approach does not contribute to solving climate change
Ø  Raising awareness on CO2-intensive industries and technologies that still account for the largest share of CO2 emissions and thus also of climate change (e.g. energy sector, cement industry)

Guest speaker: Ludovic Favarette: Director of Institutional Relations, Democratization and Data Support INNOVATION, DATA and DIGITAL DEPARTMENT BPCE, France

Data - The Fuel of Digital (France)

We have been talking a lot since 2017 about digital transformation. It is also very often said that there is no longer a Business without digital, but less often it is said that there is no Digital without Data!

So, why is data important for Digital?
Why is it crucial to invest in the subject of data?
How to make the right technological choices?
How to increase the skills of our teams?
Where to start ?

 

2021

Guest speaker: Luiz Edson Feltrim: Director, SICOOB Institute, Brazil

SICOOB Institute's Strategic Social Investment (Brazil)

The Sicoob Institute for Sustainable Development is the Strategic Social Investment Organization of the Brazilian Credit Cooperative System (Sicoob) and mobilizes a large force that involves the participation of employees and leaders of SICOOB cooperatives and the central bank, to act as transforming agents with the communities, sharing the values and principles of cooperativism, promoting entrepreneurship, financial citizenship and local sustainable development, connecting people to a more collaborative world.

Guest speaker: Dr. Jonathan Fell: Data Scientist, DZ BANK AG, Germany

Data Analytics Journey - Explainable AI (Brazil)

While the penetration of the internet and mobile devices has increased significantly in the last decade, the use of sophisticated mobile applications is still highly concentrated in banking. 

Trust is essential if we want end users such as data analysts, traders or credit analysts to employ the predictions of AI/ML-models and in order to create trust in these models, their results need to be explained to a certain degree. 

In this talk, we present some techniques to explain whitebox models or “opaque” models and approximations that allow for the explanation of blackbox models.

2020

2019

Promoting diversity and inclusion (Canada)

Desjardins Group shared with us the initiatives they are taking to promote diversity and inclusion within the organization.

Diversity and Inclusion at Desjardins it is an important matter for a number of reasons: to be a representative of their community and clients; facing a social portrait in constant evolution; workforce shortage tends to become a permanent reality on the job market; organizations with a culturally diversified workforce are 35% more likely to deliver a superior performance.

 

Click here to read the presentation

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