This year, Hungarian financial institutions will draw attention to the importance of social responsibility programmes once again at the Banking Blood Donors’ Week by participating in a joint blood donation event. The Hungarian Banking Association and the Hungarian banking sector launched a joint CSR program called JÓTETT Bank one year ago. During Banking Blood Donors’ Week, financial institutions help save lives. The idea is that the CEOs and staff of financial institutions should contribute to blood stocks by donating their own blood, thus supporting a continuous supply to those who need it.
The crisis caused by the pandemic has not only transformed the operation of the economy and society, but has also affected the social responsibility programmes of banks. Although relative to 2019, the number of bank volunteers and volunteer programmes may have declined, and thus fewer social projects and events could have been implemented with the support of banks, the value of grants, i.e. the amount spent on social purposes at sectoral level, increased by over 20% between 2019 and 2020. In 2020, the contribution of the Hungarian banking sector to society’s day-to-day life amounted to nearly HUF 10 billion, emphasised Jelasity Radován, President of the Hungarian Banking Association and President and CEO of Erste Bank, on the opening day of the second Banking Blood Donors’ Week.