Annual Report 2010 - ProCredit Bank

These six values represent the backbone of our
corporate culture and are discussed and actively
applied in our day-to-day operations. Moreover,
they are reflected in the ProCredit Code of Conduct,
which transforms the group’s ethical principles
into practical guidelines for all staff. To make
sure that new employees fully understand all of
the principles that have been defined, induction
training includes sessions dedicated to the Code
of Conduct and its significance for all members of
our team. Regular refresher training sessions help
to ensure that employees remain committed to
our high ethical standards and are kept abreast of
new issues and developments which have an ethical
dimension for our institution. These events allow
existing staff to analyse recent case studies
and discuss any grey areas.
Another aspect of ensuring that our institution adheres
to the highest ethical standards is our consistent
application of best practice systems and
procedures to protect ourselves from being used
as a vehicle for money laundering or other illegal
activities such as the financing of terrorist activities.
An important focus here is to “know your customer”,
and, in line with this principle, to carry out
sound reporting and comply with the applicable
regulations. Updated anti-money laundering and
fraud prevention policies are being introduced
Business Ethics and Environmental Standards 33
across the group to ensure compliance with German
regulatory standards.
We also set standards regarding the impact
of our lending operations on the environment.
ProCredit Bank Romania has implemented an
environmental management system
based on continuous assessment of
the loan portfolio according to environmental
criteria, an in-depth
analysis of all economic activities
which potentially involve environmental
risks, and the rejection of
loan applications from enterprises
engaged in activities which are
deemed environmentally hazardous
and appear on our institution’s
exclusion list. By incorporating
environmental issues
into the loan approval process,
ProCredit Bank Romania is also
able to raise its clients’ overall
level of environmental awareness. We
also ensure that requests for loans are evaluated
in terms of the applicant’s compliance with ethical
business practices. No loans are issued to enterprises
or individuals if it is suspected that they
are making use of unsafe or morally objectionable
forms of labour, in particular child labour.