Thai Credit Bank PCL received 1st Runner Up in the National Leadership Award on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (RDPE) 2023 presented by Ministry of Interior
The bank won the award in the private sector group for its significant contributions to rural development and poverty eradication through the Tang To Know-how project which is designed to empower people by providing financial education, boosting financial discipline and creating self-reliant communities to enhance the quality of their lives. This achievement reflects Thai Credit Bank PCL’s commitment to helping alleviate the county’s poverty problem and reducing inequality, in line with the bank’s business philosophy of Everyone Matters. It is also a testament to the bank’s capability to work with the government sector efficiently. Thai Credit Bank PCL pledges its dedication to the project long into the future for sustainable development.
Thai Credit Bank PCL announced that it has been selected by the Ministry of Interior’s committee to the National Leadership Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (RDPE) Leadership Awards and has been awarded as the first runner-up in the private sector group for its Tang To Know-how project. The programme meets the selection criteria and demonstrates high performance by giving tangible outcomes to people and consistently making a difference in the lives of local people. Meanwhile, Thai Credit Bank PCL continues to operate its business to ensure that it meets the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) compliance requirements and acts in an ethical, transparent, and responsible way, both are keys to sustainability. In this award giving ceremony, Mr. Winyou Chaiyawan (CEO) has joined and received the award from Mr. Suttipong Juljarern, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior.
Mr. Winyou Chaiyawan, CEO of Thai Credit Bank PCL, said “Sustainability is an essential part of a successful business. The bank has always been committed to ESG and also conducted business in compliance with ESG’s requirements which are fundamental to creating long-term value for stakeholders. It has created a socially responsible culture that has elevated it to ‘top of mind’ for its executives and employees. The bank has encouraged all employees to participate in social activities and supported executives to lead by example.
“The award is an important milestone in the bank’s accomplishment. It is not only a pride but also a result of all employees’ hard work and dedication. This achievement also serves as a powerful motivation to all of us to continue performing at our best for future projects.”
Roy Agustinus Gunara, Managing Director of the Thai Credit Bank PCL, emphasized that financial literacy is a vital knowledge for well-being and stability. This led the bank to initiate the Tang To Know-how project in 2017 to provide financial education to people and instil financial discipline to raise overall quality of their lives. To achieve this goals, it has arranged training sessions at the bank’s 267 lending branches nationwide, organized by lending branch managers who have completed the “professional trainer” programme. Thai Credit Bank PCL also has online sessions that allow people to join from anywhere, this helps to create equal opportunities in conveniently accessing education. Both the classroom and online sessions are free of charge.
“Many people are spending more than they earn. Some are struggling to make ends meet. They don’t have an emergency fund. They aren’t saving enough for retirement. Also, these people are stuck in a money trap, using the entire limits of the credit cards they have but only afford to make minimum payments every month. This can lead them to drowning in debt. Money issues happen because they have lack of knowledge and skills to understand budgeting basics. To solve these problems, they should have necessary knowledge and tools to make their money work for them,” he said.
The Tang To Know-how project has four main courses, each carefully designed to cater to the particular needs to each groups of learners. They are: 1) Entrepreneurship Course for small businesses and mom-and-pop shops owners; 2) Personal Finance Course for employees; 3) Tang To, the Tutor for students; and 4) Financial Management for Life for government officers. Since its roll-out, the project has enjoyed great success, with more than 170,000 attendees over the past seven years. In 2023 alone, more than 58,000 attendees participated in the classroom sessions at the bank’s branches and took part in onsite training sessions. Thai Credit Bank PCL is so proud that the bank achieved Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 81, which is considered “EXCELLENT”.
“It was better than we expected,” Mr. Roy Gunara said.
Thai Credit Bank PCL has also run special training sessions to empower farmers, owners of state enterprises, and local residents. It has provided financial education and promoted career development through the Thai Credit Foundation’s community development projects to build financial discipline, generate income, and improve local economies, which can eventually help to reduce poverty.
“We will continue to expand the targeted groups and increase learning channels. Hopefully, this will enable easy access to different groups of people, by allowing them to learn and reach their full potential. For Thai Credit Bank PCL, Everyone Matters,” the bank’s managing director said.
In 2024, the bank will continue its social activities to help and support people especially small business owners who are regarded as the backbone of the country’s economic development. The bank will also keep improving the Tang To Know-how project by considering on lessons learned and improving the course’s content to ensure they are up-to-date and relevant which would enable learners to effectively adapt the acquired knowledge to everyday life.
“We vow to keep on with the projects and activities, and work hard to reach a balance between business profits and ESG concerns while adhering to corporate governance. This is crucial to our sustainable development,” he said.
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