Social responsibility
BPI interprets its corporate social responsibility as being the set of duties and obligations the Institution is bound by in relation to the Community in which it is integrated and to the specific interest groups that depend on its activity: Customers, Shareholders, Employees and Investors, represented in the capital market where the share is subject to permanent scrutiny. From this perspective, the exercise of corporate social responsibility assumes multiple dimensions of quite contrasting natures which from the outset entail compliance with the Law and applicable regulations, the observance of specific conduct rules, the corporate governance policy and its execution, the relationship with Investors, the promotion of a quality service and the policy of human resources advancement, as well as the support for initiatives within Society in fields such as Health, Solidarity, Education and Culture. Governance Since its inception BPI has pursued a set of practices and guiding principles, the application of which ensures a diligent, effective and balanced management of the interests of all its Shareholders and other stakeholders. Some of the structural pillars of BPI’s governance policy are the creation of value as management’s overriding objective, the adoption of best market practices in terms of communication and the dissemination of information, the independence of executive management vis-à-vis any Shareholder or specific interest groups, and the commitment to stringent standards of ethical and professional conduct. BPI’s governance policy is described in much greater detail in the annual corporate governance report which BPI has published since 2000 when such practice was not yet compulsory for quoted companies in Portugal. Indeed, the Bank has adopted – in the majority of cases, ahead of time – the corporate governance recommendations issued by the CMVM, while simultaneously keeping abreast of the latest pronouncements in this domain by the European Commission, the OECD and other national and international bodies.
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Banco BPI | Annual Report 2007
Investor relations BPI attributes great importance to keeping a frank and transparent relationship with shareholders, investors, financial analysts, the authorities and other capital market players. Consequently and long before it was already common practice amongst companies listed on the stock exchange, BPI created in 1993 a structure dedicated exclusively to this end – the Investor Relations Division which reports directly to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors and to the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The dissemination of accurate, timely, regular, clear and unbiased information that is relevant for assessing its shares listed on the stock market constitutes one of BPI’s primary concerns. Comprehensive information about investor relations activity during 2007 is provided in the BPI Group’s Corporate Governance Report. Service quality During 2007 and giving continuity to the policy pursued in previous years, the quality of service provided to Customers constituted one of the main strategic priorities, asserting itself as one of the BPI brand’s most outstanding attributes. Recognition of this quality is manifested in the levels of Banco BPI’s perceived quality and in the degree of Customer satisfaction, as gauged in a continuous and regular manner through the Service Quality Index (IQS). On the other hand, during the course of 2007 BPI endeavoured to enhance quality from the perspective of internal service and Employee satisfaction, having created for this purpose a new instrument for appraising the service provided by the Central Units to the Commercial Networks (IQS Central Units), which constitutes an important driver for continuing improvement. This step is contributing to an ever-increasing sustainability of the quality levels, permitting the reinforcement of the orientation to Customer service in the central structures’ functioning,
with an expected positive reflex on the level of both Customers’ and Employees’ satisfaction. Special attention was paid in 2007 to the topic of Customer attendance as a manner of boosting the culture of differentiated service and valued by the market, not only through the continued use of the Mystery Customer surveys for appraising and monitoring effective practices, but also the development of pilot projects supported on the theorisation of key attendance methodologies and their implementation at a group of branches. Advancement of human resources During the year, roughly 96% of the Employees deployed in operations in Portugal participated in in-house and external training courses, which compares very favourably with the universe of 70% in 2006. Each Employee received on average 28.4 training hours. The investment in training as a percentage of payroll costs recorded an increase compared with 2006, being situated at 1.3%. In this group is included assistance given to 85 Employees attending post-graduate courses. Mention is also made of the fact that as regards e-learning and for the first time, the entire universe of the Bank’s Employees was enrolled in the course devoted to the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism. At the same time, the promotion of self-training was promoted founded on the possibility of self-enrolment at any course to be chosen from a specific catalogue. In Angola, 2007 saw the conclusion of an ambitious training plan initiated in the previous year, involving the whole of BFA’s Commercial Network and various areas of the Central Services. Close to 100 classroom-type training sessions were realised, which were attended by 570 Employees. 64% were devoted to recently-graduated Employees. 26 practical-training secondments took place in Luanda for Employees who assumed leadership functions. In addition, 10 practical-training secondments were realised in Portugal for Employees whose specialisation justifies this investment.
Patronage As part of its social investment policy, BPI continued to support in 2007 a diversified spectrum of important projects and initiatives in the areas of Health, Solidarity, Education, Investigation and Culture, namely in Portugal, Angola and Mozambique. In Angola, local activities are funded by the BFA – Banco de Fomento Angola (100%-held by BPI) – Social Fund, to which the Bank decided to allocate (since 2005) 5% of annual net income for a period of five years. Health and Social Solidarity BPI gave continuity in 2007 to its policy of lending regular support to social-welfare institutions, with special emphasis on those working in the areas of child protection, health and solidarity. In the sphere of Child Protection, the following institutions benefited from our support: CerciEspinho – Cooperativa de Educação e Reabilitação de Crianças Inadaptadas (cooperative for children with deficiencies), the Associação Portuguesa para os Direitos dos Menores e da Família (association for the rights of minors and the family), CADIn – Centro de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Infantil (infant development centre), the “Swatch – Perfect World” project which has as its goal the construction of the Centro de Acolhimento de Crianças em Risco do MSV – Movimento ao Serviço da Vida (child shelter centre), AAjude – Associação de Apoio à Juventude Deficiente (disabled youth support centre), Obra do Frei Gil, Centros de Educação Especial “O Ninho” (special education centres) in Rio Maior, Liga dos Amigos do Hospital Maria Pia (hospital charity) and the Children International Summer Villages. In Angola, amongst the various projects supported were the Casa do Gaiato de Benguela (boys and girls shelter home) and the “Merenda Escolar” project which, in partnership with the Congregation of Mama Muxima Catholic nuns, offers daily breakfast and afternoon snacks to more than a thousand children from the Coreia suburb, one of the city of Luanda’s poorest. In the Health arena, we highlight the support and assistance given to the following institutions and
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charities: Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa (Portuguese Red Cross), Associação Portuguesa de Paralisia Cerebral (cerebral palsy), Encontrar+Se – Associação de Apoio a Pessoas com Perturbação Mental Grave (support for the seriously mentally ill), Fundação Portuguesa de Cardiologia (cardiology association), Abraço – Associação de Apoio a Pessoas com VIH / Sida (HIV / AIDS support group), Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro (fight cancer association), ATT – Associação de Tratamento de Toxicodependências (drug addiction treatment association), and the hospital support groups Associação dos Amigos do Hospital Magalhães Lemos, Associação dos Amigos do Hospital Santa Maria and Liga dos Amigos do Hospital Santo António. In Angola, of special note was the collaboration the with National Oncology Centre and, in partnership with the USAID (American Agency for International Aid and Development), the project for the creation of 5 Jangos Juvenis: 䊏
the National Oncology Centre is the country’s only hospital unit dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The Bank’s support enabled the centre to acquire equipment and thus improve its free consultations programmes, and to hold seminars for the technical staff and preventative information lectures directed at the population;
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the Jangos Juvenis Project have as their objective the prevention of HIV / AIDS at community level, chiefly amongst the youth, and is the result of an initiative of the PSI / Angola, which has the backing of the Health, Youth and Sports Ministries. As part of this project, two new Jangos (Cunene and Huambo) were opened during 2007.
In the Social Solidarity field, the main initiatives centred on the support given to the Comunidade Vida e Paz, Fundação Ajuda à Igreja que Sofre, Conferência de São Vicente de Paulo, Centro Social da Paróquia da Senhora da Conceição, CEERIA in Alcobaça, Associação CAIS’s congress dedicated to “Empowerment”, Pro Dignitate – Fundação de Direitos Humanos, Leigos para o Desenvolvimento, Associação Novo Futuro and Igreja Paroquial de São Nicolau.
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Banco BPI | Annual Report 2007
Reference is also made to the admission as a member of the association EIS – Empresários pela Inclusão Social (entrepreneurs for social inclusion), in which one of the principal concerns is the combat against school failure and abandonment. In Angola, the following projects merit special mention: 䊏
the electrification of the poor zones of the Kilamba Kiaxi and Viana municipalities which continued to be developed during 2007, the completion of which is scheduled to take place next year. This project has BFA’s backing of 1.2 million dollars for a period of three years;
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the construction of 50 public-drinking fountains in the poorer areas of Luanda, which brings together EPAL (Empresa Pública de Águas), AdP (Águas de Portugal) and BFA. This project was completed during 2007.
Research, Innovation and Education In the Research field we highlight the contribution made for the first time to the Molecular Medicine Institute of the Universidade de Lisboa’s Medical Faculty, a leading specialist institution which dedicates itself to four research areas linked to the health sciences: neurosciences, oncology, cellular and development biology, and immunology and infectious-disease sciences. Also noteworthy was the tri-annual support previously granted to IPATIMUP, the scientific research institute in the areas of oncology and genetics, in which BPI was particularly involved in the organisation of a group of companies which in a systematic manner lend support to this important institution. The decision to participate as an associate of INEGI – Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica e Gestão Industrial (mechanical engineering and industrial management institute), one of the most important institutions serving as the interface between the Universidade do Porto and the business community, assumed special significance. INEGI undertakes intensive work in research and development and is unique for its active partnership with national and international companies in the development of product, process or organisational innovation projects.
Equally important was the participation in the creation of five more scientific and teaching laboratories at the Universidade de Coimbra’s Science and Technology Faculty, in addition to the three already inaugurated in 2005. Support was also given to CIM – Centro Internacional de Matemática (International Mathematics Centre) (Universidade de Coimbra). In the realm of Innovation the principal initiative embarked on in 2007 was the support granted to START – Prémio Nacional de Empreendedorismo (national entrepreneurship prize). The START 2007 prize, the result of a partnership between BPI, Microsoft and Universidade Nova de Lisboa, seeks to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in Portugal, to reward and disseminate new ideas for the creation of companies, to foster the preparation of sound business plans and to involve, in a coordinated manner entrepreneurs, researchers and the business community. More than 500 business ideas were submitted, with the winner being Stemmaters, whose objective is the development of new regenerative therapies for bone, cartilage and skin stem cells. The 40 thousand euro prize was incorporated into the new company’s share capital. Also worthy of mention was the SME Innovation Cotec – BPI prize, which in 2007 was awarded “ex-aequo” to Alert, whose business is the development of clinical software, and to Frulact, whose principal activity is producing fruit preparations specially destined for the milk industry. BPI continued to sponsor the COHITEC programme, also a Cotec initiative, which seeks to enhance the knowledge generated by the technological research undertaken by universities and other institutions falling under the Portuguese scientific and technological system through the support for high-tech start-upsG with high growth potential. Backing was also given to the conferences staged by APEGEI – Associação Portuguesa de Gestão e Engenharia Industrial and by the Instituto Português da Qualidade. In the Education arena, BPI reinforced its collaboration with higher education institutions, notably the long-term protocols entered into with Instituto Superior Técnico, the
Science and Technology Faculty and the Law Faculty of Universidade de Coimbra (Institute of Banking Law, Stock Markets and Insurance, European Institute, Economic Sciences Bulletin), the Fine Arts Faculty of Universidade de Lisboa, as well as the Student Associations of the Instituto Superior Técnico and the Lisbon Medical Faculty. Prizes were awarded to the best students from the Universidade do Algarve, Universidade de Aveiro (Economics and Engineering), Universidade da Beira Interior, Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Masters degree in Economic and Business Sciences), Universidade de Coimbra (Science and Technology), Universidade de Lisboa (Fine Arts), Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, as well as support for the holding of specialist conferences and scientific-pedagogic projects at certain of these universities. Also meriting mention was the awarding of prizes to the best finalists from the Polytechnic Institutes of Leiria, Tomar and Viana do Castelo. Support was given to the conferences organised by the Universidade de Coimbra (Economics), Universidade do Porto (Economics and Engineering), Universidade do Minho, Universidade Católica Portuguesa (in the case of the last-mentioned, BPI supported the commemorations of its fortieth anniversary). Also deserving mention was the support for AR.CO – Centro de Arte e Comunicação Visual, whose role in the training in the plastic arts field is particularly important. In Angola the main initiatives were the support for two post-graduate courses, one in Banking Law and the other in Public Administration, at Universidade Agostinho Neto, as well as the granting of prizes to the best final year students at Universidade Católica de Angola. The courses resulted from a scientific collaboration between Universidade Agostinho Neto, the Law Faculty of Universidade de Lisboa and the Social and Political Sciences Institute of Universidade Técnica de Lisboa. In Mozambique, BCI Fomento gave continuity to the partnership accord with Escola Nacional de Artes Visuais and reinforced the quality and diversity of the multimedia libraries integrated within its organic structures, one in Maputo and the other in Beira. The agreement with the
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school materialises in the staging of joint initiatives in the training of young professionals in the arts field. The multimedia libraries include a library, a video archive and an Internet-café open to the public, with the one in Maputo having supported during 2007 the publishing and publication of various books.
residence in Paris, in cooperation with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
Culture BPI’s cultural patronage policy continued to give priority to a group of institutions and initiatives linked to contemporary art, music and the promotion of the Portuguese language.
Within the ambit of cultural patronage, support was given to the Museu do Caramulo, Museu da Presidência da República, to the Teatro Viriato in Viseu, and to the Foundations Museu do Douro, Casa de Mateus, Eça de Queiroz, Eugénio de Andrade, Júlio de Resende, Luís Miguel Nava (annual poetry award), Maria Isabel Guerra Junqueiro, Cooperativa Árvore, Centro Nacional de Cultura, Instituto Português de Fotografia, Instituto Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, Bienal de Vila Nova de Cerveira, Associação dos Amigos da Torre do Tombo, Fundação Cidade de Lisboa (cycle of conferences). BPI once again sponsored the principal concert held annually at the Coliseu do Porto and the Ponte de Lima Opera Festival.
The chief news of the year under review was the formalisation of the status of the principal patron of the Casa da Música (music hall) for a period of three years. On the other hand, the partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation was renewed for the realisation of the cycle of concerts devoted annually to the World’s Great Orchestras, an event which has been running for more than a decade and constitutes a fundamental showcase for musical programming in Portugal. BPI also gave support to the anniversary celebrations of the Treaty of Rome on the occasion of the Portuguese EU Presidency. In the Arts field, the Bank maintains the status of patron of the Serralves Museum and was once again the sole sponsor of the Annual Grand Exhibition, this time dedicated to the North American Robert Rauschenberg, with the title “Travelling 70-76”. It also backed for the second consecutive year Arte Lisboa, the country’s biggest contemporary art fair, and became the patron of the new Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas. Also for the second year running, BPI sponsored the Portuguese Language National Contest in partnership with Expresso, SIC and Jornal de Letras. This competition was held in the first half of 2007 and attracted more than 30 thousand participants. Special reference is made to the medium-term support given to the renovation of the André Gouveia university
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Banco BPI | Annual Report 2007
Also noteworthy was the exhibition of the works by the painter Vieira da Silva at the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art.
In Angola, BFA sponsored the III National History of Angola Gathering, the 4th edition of the Coopearte project, the collective exhibition of plastic artists oriented towards cultural promotion and exchange, the programme of activities and events of the Centro Cultural Português and the publishing of the Portuguese Language Manual by the authors Maria Helena Miguel and Maria Antónia Alves, lecturers at the Universidade Católica de Angola. Special reference is made to the support given to the get-together in Luanda of all the foundations from the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa – CPLP). In Mozambique, the main highlights were amongst Banco BCI Fomento’s cultural sponsorships those to the National Song and Dance Company, the 2nd Maputo Documentary Film Festival “Dockanema” and the 3rd Maputo Music Festival. Also worth noting was the support given to the staging of the Mozambique Week promoted by the Republic of Mozambique Embassy.
