On 15 December 2022, at a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects, a promise was made to prepare a «portrait of a woman who wants to give birth». In line with the principle of «Give Assignment — Supervise — Do It Yourself», Center-Invest Bank compiled this portrait on its own, using modern data processing techniques.
Human resource policy in a transformational economy. Center-Invest Bank has been operating in the South of Russia for more than 30 years. During this time, the bank has built a very competent team, working in an economy of transformation: constant change in the face of ongoing crises, as well as the trajectory of the bank’s male and female staff. Each year, more than 400 students study the Young Banker course at the Financial Literacy Centre, then undertake an internship at the bank, with the most talented of them becoming bank employees within a year. With a deep sense of gratitude, the rest of the graduates start working for the bank’s customers and even competitors. But in a competitive environment, the new generation comes with the knowledge and mentality of Center-Invest Bank, including on gender policy issues.
Birth Rate. In the USSR, a maternity leave was perceived as a step aimed at frustrating the plans of the Party and the people. The manager of the woman in question received information at the last minute, further disrupting the rhythm of the busy plans. Early diagnosis of pregnancy now makes it possible to prepare colleagues and operations and to surround the mother-to-be with care and attention. Employees in departments know that the salary and functions of the person who has gone on maternity leave will be distributed among the remaining colleagues, and a new position will be added to the department after the maternity leave. As a result of this practice, the birth rate at Center-Invest Bank exceeds the national and regional birth rate by more than 4.5 times.
Gender equality and financial sustainability. One common gender stereotype calls for an increase in the proportion of women in government. Center-Invest Bank’s experience clearly demonstrates that what matters is not that a woman is in a managerial position, but that a woman manager can go on maternity leave and return to her previous job calmly and confidently. At the Euromoney conference, the governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Prof. Ewald Nowotny, after examining the accounts of Center-Invest Bank, said that «the birth rate of employees’ families is the best indicator of a bank’s financial sustainability».
Loans to women entrepreneurs. For more than 10 years, Center-Invest Bank has provided women entrepreneurs with loans at a preferential rate. Women use loans more responsibly: there are no defaults on their loans. This ensures that the rate on women’s loans is lower (0.5%) than on other similar products. Women are ready to take over the running of a business in times of need: in 2022, the number of loans issued to businesswomen increased by 34% and the amount of loans disbursed increased by 48%.
Women of global beauty. In everyday life, women are less likely than men to think about global challenges, but they are more successful at solving them. Center-Invest Bank is the first bank in the world to incorporate Sustainable Development Goal indicators into its operations and reporting.
Since 2019, the bank has financed SDG projects totalling RUB 395.6 billion. The participation of women in these projects was 30.5%, with the women’s SDG projects being more socially responsible. Women strive to achieve: Goal 1 No Poverty (27% are women’s projects), Goal 11 Sustainable Cities And Communities (19%), Goal 10 Reduced Inequalities (15%), Goal 5 Gender Equality (15%), Goal 2 Zero Hunger (11%), Goal 8 Decent Work And Economic Growth (6%), Goal 4 Quality education (4%), Goal 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (2%).
Women play a different role in each of the SDG projects. The most female is Goal 4 Quality Education, where the share of women is more than 90%. In addition, the contribution of women exceeds 40% in achievement of: Goal 1 No poverty, Goal 5 Gender Equality, Goal 10 Reduced Inequalities.
Bank customers: men and women. The behaviour of men and women complement each other, but in different ways at different times in life. It is therefore politically and scientifically incorrect to paint a portrait of a woman without men. The bank’s task is to make every stage of every social group’s life journey happy. There is gender equality among the bank’s customers: 52% are women, 48% are men; men are more active with the bank until the age of 30, then the situation evens out and women begin to prevail among customers after the age of 50.
There is not much difference in the volume of deposits between men and women, except for the larger deposits of young men (18–23 years old) and women at a mature age (52–63 years old). In the case of green investments, which are allocated to specific SDGs, women’s share is higher, reaching an impressive 63.4%.
Loans. Women take out more loans than men when they are young. Men then become more active in lending, and this activity decreases somewhat by the age of 50, but men also borrow more in adulthood to ensure the welfare and living conditions of the family.
The quality of loans is determined by the share of arrears in the total amount owed: it is twice as high for men in almost all age groups, especially in older age groups, when the commitments made by men are becoming for them more difficult to service.
Loans 2022. The withdrawal from COVID-19 restrictions and the start of the military operation necessitated an increase in credit support: the volume of new loans for young men was almost entirely renewed, and for young women by two-thirds. In the remaining age groups, the portfolio was renewed by a third, with the older generation renewing 40% for women and almost 50% for men. The average loan size has increased for men and women, especially in the 24–51 age groups. This is due to the desire to have a chance to realise pending projects and wishes.
Card payments. The volume of plastic card payments between men and women does not differ much, but in the age groups under 23 and 42–63, women are significantly more likely to use payment cards.
Women more often than men pay with plastic cards for clothes, shoes, jewellery and watches, in pharmacies, medium-sized department stores, drugstores, when buying sports goods and cosmetics. Men more often than women use plastic cards to pay for car services, fuel and repairs. It is equally common for men and women to pay with cards in restaurants, fast food outlets and specialty shops.
Portrait of a Woman at Bank Center-Invest. The bank provides an equal and competitive start-up and career development environment for young men and women. The bank’s steady operation creates confidence for a high birth rate in employees’ families.
The bank ensures gender equality and happiness in life for all social groups. All other things being equal, mothers and grandmothers entrust Center-Invest Bank with their savings to lend to their sons’, grandchildren’s and their peers’ business projects. Women are taking over the calculations for most products over time, not forgetting to take care of their beauty and health. Men are more likely to pay for their hobbies. Women are more actively engaged in the implementation of the social Sustainable Development Goals.