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De VolksbankNetherlands

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Jeroen Dijsselbloem (former Dutch minister of finance) and Maurice Oostendorp (former Volksbank CEO) looking at new bank logo on the facade of the bank's headquarters at the Croeselaan 1 in Utrecht. Photo: Jascha Hagendoorn via Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 4.0]

Active

This profile is actively maintained
Last update: 2023-03-03 14:32:26
About
Website https://www.devolksbank.nl/home.html
Headquarters
Croeselaan 1
3521 BJ Utrecht
Netherlands
CEO/chair Martijn Gribnau
CEO
Supervisor
De Nederlandsche Bank
Ownership

De Volksbank is owned by the Dutch state via NLFI, a Dutch government agency.

De Volksbank is a Dutch retail bank, providing various banking products and services for individuals and small businesses. The bank offers savings, payments, investments, asset management, mortgages, loans, and disability and term life insurance, as well as online and mobile banking services. It operates under the four brands, including ASN Bank, BLG Wonen, RegioBank, and SNS bank. The bank was formerly known as SNS Bank and changed its name to de Volksbank in January 2017. In 2013 SNS Bank was nationalised making the Dutch state the only share holder of de Volksbank.

Sustainability
Commitments
Policies
Voluntary standards

De Volksbank's most important sustainability commitments (including the commitments from its subsidiary ASN Bank) can be found at the website sections listed below.

Links

Responsible banking

Sustainability policy documents

Sustainability policies ASN Bank

De Volksbank uses the same policies as its subsidiary ASN Bank. Therefore, ASN Bank policy documents, as mentioned below, apply to de Volksbank as well.

Biodiversity Policy

Bank policy
2021-05-10 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

Sustainability management policy

Bank policy
2020-08-25 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

ASN human rights policy

Bank policy
2018-03-31 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

ASN policy climate change

Bank policy
2018-03-31 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

Sustainability statement

Bank policy
2018-02-27 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

ASN Bank sustainability criteria 2016

Bank policy
2016-12-13 00:00:00 | de Volksbank

ASN Bank policy on good governing and ethical handling of companies

Bank policy
2015-06-23 00:00:00 | de Volksbank
De Volksbank has committed itself to the following voluntary standards:
Basel ConventionTags: chemicals | transport and infrastructure
Climate Statement Dutch Banking Association (NVB)Tags: climate change | transparency
Code Banken (Dutch Banking Code)Tags: bond issuance
De Spitsbergen ambitieTags: climate change
Dutch Banking Sector Agreement on International Responsible Business Conduct regarding Human RightsTags: human rights
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Environmental and Social Policy 2014Tags: biodiversity | corporate social responsibility | finance | labour
Finance for Biodiversity PledgeTags: biodiversity | corporate social responsibility
Global Reporting InitiativeTags: sustainable development | human rights
Greenhouse Gas Protocol Tags: climate change | greenhouse gas emissions | mitigation
Klimaatakkoord NetherlandsTags: climate change | corporate social responsibility
Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials (PBAF)Tags: biodiversity | corporate social responsibility
Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)Tags: carbon | corporate social responsibility
Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB)Tags: climate change | corporate social responsibility | finance | sustainable development | United Nations | Voluntary Standards
UN Guiding Principles Reporting FrameworkTags: United Nations | human rights
UNEP Finance InitiativeTags: United Nations | sustainable development
United Nations Global CompactTags: United Nations | human rights
Dodgy Deals

De Volksbank is linked to a number of companies and projects that BankTrack considers controversial (so called Dodgy Deals), e.g. as a current or past financier or through an expression of interest. The profiles below provide more details on the nature of De Volksbank's link to these deals.

Projects / Companies
Finance type
Year
News
BankTrack
Partners
Blog
External
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Dutch pension funds, insurers and banks not yet Paris-proof

The climate plans of the Dutch financial sector are totally insufficient to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and they do not reflect the seriousness and urgency of the climate crisis. This is evident from new research by the Fair Finance Guide Netherlands
2021-09-30 | Amsterdam | Fair Finance Guide Netherlands
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Banks called upon to take action to protect biodiversity ahead of UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming

Civil society organizations urge banks to adopt stringent “No Go” policy for biodiversity rich areas
2021-05-26 | Nijmegen | BankTrack
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Progress on Dutch bank sustainability policies but improvements still needed

2020-10-27 | Fair Finance International
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Dutch banks fail to act on gender equality

Dutch banks still have far to go to realise gender equality in both their internal operations and their client and investee relationships. This is the conclusion of a new study conducted by SOMO for the Fair Bank Guide on the performance of seven Dutch banks.
2020-03-12 | SOMO
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Staatsbank De Volksbank nog steeds niet klaar voor verkoop

(article in Dutch)
2019-11-12 | RTL Z
Resources
Documents

Annual report 2021

Annual report
2022-03-11 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

Climate change commitments of financial institutions active in the Netherlands

NGO document
2021-09-30 00:00:00 | Fair Finance Guide Netherlands

Biodiversity Policy

Bank policy
2021-05-10 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

PBAF Common Ground Paper

Other document
2021-03-21 00:00:00 | Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials

Annual report 2020

Annual report
2021-03-15 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

Beoordeling van het krediet-en beleggingsbeleid van acht Nederlandse bankgroepen

NGO document
2020-10-27 00:00:00 | EerlijkeBankwijzer/Fair Finance International

Sustainability management policy

Bank policy
2020-08-25 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

Annual report 2019

Annual report
2020-03-05 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

Annual report 2018

Annual report
2019-03-07 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

Human Rights Report

Annual report
2019-02-27 00:00:00 | Volksbank

Still Undermining our Future?

Fair Finance Guide Netherlands
NGO document
2018-11-27 00:00:00 | Amnesty International, FNV, Milieudefensie, Oxfam Novib, PAX, Profundo and World Animal Protection

Sustainability ratings

Bank document
2018-04-04 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

ASN human rights policy

Bank policy
2018-03-31 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

ASN policy climate change

Bank policy
2018-03-31 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

Annual Report 2017

Annual report
2018-03-01 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

Sustainability statement

Bank policy
2018-02-27 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

ASN Bank sustainability criteria 2016

Bank policy
2016-12-13 00:00:00 | de Volksbank

Carbon Neutral Infographic

Bank document
2016-03-31 00:00:00 | De Volksbank

ASN Bank policy on good governing and ethical handling of companies

Bank policy
2015-06-23 00:00:00 | de Volksbank
Accountability
Grievances

De Volksbank's complaints handling procedure can be accessed here.

Stakeholders may raise complaints via the OECD National Contact Points (see OECD Watch guidance). Advice on specific cases may also be requested from the NVB's Advisory Panel on Responsible Banking.

This page evaluates De Volksbank's responses to instances of alleged human rights violations linked to its finance, raised by civil society organisations. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but covers selected impacts raised by BankTrack and other civil society partners since 2016. For the full scoring methodology, see here. For more information about BankTrack's evaluation of bank responses to human rights impacts, see the 2021 report "Actions speak louder: assessing bank responses to human rights violations".

Impacts reviewed
Responded?
Total score
Response
Action
Monitoring

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