BICE, National Development Bank of Argentina, received an international award for promoting the sustainability of the projects it finances. The Social and Environmental Risk Analysis and Management System (SARAS) is used to ensure that all the credits the bank grants have a positive social and environmental impact and is key to access funding lines from multilateral organizations.

José Ignacio de Mendiguren, president of BICE, participated virtually in the award given today by the Latin American Association of Financial Institutions for Development (ALIDE) in the framework of the 52nd Meeting of its General Assembly, which took place in Willemstad, Curaçao.

BICE and ALIDE are part of the global coalition of Development Banks, called Finance in Common, which aims to steer global finance towards sustainable and inclusive growth. Instruments such as SARAS contribute to this objective.

BICE implemented SARAS through a technical team that analyses all the projects financed by its various credit lines (investment, foreign trade, leasing, factoring and working capital) to survey key aspects such as: employment generation; energy consumption; gender inclusion; carbon footprint; and CO2 emissions avoided.  Thanks to this, the bank was able to access lines from multilateral organisations for almost USD 500 million that evaluated the application of its socio-environmental risk system.

BICE’s system was recognised in the Management, Modernisation and Technology category of the ALIDE awards, which seek to highlight the best practices of member institutions and promote the dissemination and exchange of innovative and sustainable initiatives in the region.