In Bangkok, Thailand, the first meeting of the Social and Philanthropic Council of the World Institute of Savings Banks and Retail Banks (WSBI) took place. Isidro Fain, president of Fundación La Caixa and Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (CZECH), chaired the event. The WSBI was established in December 2023, with Fain serving as its president.
During the gathering, the ‘Bangkok Declaration’ was issued, which emphasized the commitment of participating entities to six key areas of action: young population, poverty reduction, education support, empowerment of women, older people, and sustainability of the planet. Fain also presented three key social programs from Fundación La Caixa and highlighted a recent agreement with Sparkassenstiftung on Silver Finance, supported by the Inter-American Development Bank.
The Social and Philanthropic Council’s main objective is to facilitate exchange among members about their social work programs while providing guidance on global trends in philanthropy and identifying areas for important developments to improve global sustainability and stability.
Among the attendees were international actors in social work and philanthropy such as State Bank of India, German Sparkassenstiftung, Grupo Social Foundation of Colombia, Al Barid Bank of Morocco, GSB Foundation of Savings Banks in Thailand as well as Fundación La Caixa and CECA amongst others.