Inclusive banking can help boost the economy

For many years, the financial sector was largely the domain of men – which is hardly surprising, since so many banks were founded long ago by men, for men. This means that the services offered by banks today aren’t always fully aligned with the needs and wishes of all client groups, says Chantal Korteweg, Director of Social Impact & Inclusive Banking at ABN AMRO. “Consequently, fewer women invest than men. Women also benefit to a lesser degree from mortgage advice and own fewer financial products. We would be making a positive impact on society as a whole if we could help more women become financially independent by making them more knowledgeable about financial products and services to grow and manage their wealth.”

Breaking down barriers

In 2021, ABN AMRO’s Inclusive Banking team sat down to identify the barriers users of the bank’s services face. The findings of a report entitled “The value of inclusivity in banking”, which the bank co-authored with McKinsey, show that action is needed. Chantal says, “Women aren’t given the same personalised financial advice at key stages in their lives, for example. Female entrepreneurs want better access to financing in order to grow their businesses.” International research conducted by the management consulting firm Oliver Wyman shows this problem isn’t limited to the Netherlands: in fact, 67% of women in the world’s largest economies feel that financial advisers do not understand them or are not interested in them as clients. Chantal continues, “We want to break down these barriers so that everyone has equal opportunities when it comes to banking.”

Organisational changes

The results of the survey have jump-started a range of initiatives to make the bank’s services more inclusive. Each and every client must feel seen, and that starts with a focus on culture and behaviour in the organisation, Chantal says: “We’re training our advisers to take a more inclusive approach to clients. It’s all about finding the right tone and using the right words. Also key is raising awareness through the use of tools to make advisers aware of their unconscious biases. We all have them, myself included.” But Chantal also points out that other changes are as simple as they are effective: “Why not invite both spouses to a meeting to discuss their finances? And send her a confirmation of the meeting, too.” Following on from these changes, the bank is currently investigating the barriers faced by clients from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Better recognition

Part of inclusive banking is making information and knowledge available and accessible to all. Indeed, women currently have less access to clear, comprehensible financial information than men do. The bank has now launched a number of special initiatives to better inform women, says Chantal. Together with the women’s magazine LINDA., the bank recently published a special investment supplement for readers. “Wealth creation is important to everyone, but it’s especially important to women. Although women tend to live longer, their pensions are on average 40 per cent lower than those of men,” Chantal explains. The bank recently teamed up with the financial education platform ELFIN to organise a series of investment boot camps to introduce women to investment, drawing over 350 participants. Aspiring female entrepreneurs can also draw inspiration from ABN AMRO’s The Guide, a book and documentary in which six female entrepreneurs share their experiences.

Accelerating female entrepreneurship

Another important issue involving inclusive banking is the provision of services to female entrepreneurs. The results of several recent surveys show that women are less likely than their male counterparts to secure financing in order to grow their business. One reason is that in the male-dominated world of finance, it tends to be men who approve the applications, which confirms what Chantal has been hearing from women entrepreneurs for some time: “Many female entrepreneurs face barriers to financing. Access to, and knowledge of, financing both have to be improved.” To that end, Chantal founded the organisation Code-V (short for Nederlandse Code Stimuleren Vrouwelijk Ondernemerschap, or the Dutch Promoting Female Entrepreneurship Code) in 2023, which she describes as “a partnership between what are now sixty-five public and private organisations in the Netherlands aiming to promote female entrepreneurship by breaking down barriers to give this group better access to financing and essential knowledge”. A similar initiative in the UK has resulted in a 37 per cent increase in the number of women in business each year.

Not just for show

Member organisations are required to demonstrate how they plan to improve opportunities for female entrepreneurs. Participation in Code-V is not just for show, Chantal emphasises: “It’s about taking real action to effect change. Each organisation appoints one member of the senior management team who is responsible for the results. We’ve joined forces with these sixty-five organisations to make the business climate less complex and more appealing so that more female entrepreneurs come forward and more financing goes to this group. Women make up 37 per cent of all entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, but less than 10 per cent of financing currently goes to this group,” says Chantal. Equal opportunities for women in business are important not only to individual entrepreneurs, but also to society as a whole, ultimately leading to job growth, innovation, sustainability and greater financial resilience. “Not to mention that more women starting and growing more businesses will result in a tremendous boost to the Dutch economy,” she says. Research conducted by ABN AMRO and McKinsey estimates this potential growth to be around EUR 139 billion. Chantal concludes, “Thanks to our joint efforts through Code-V, we’re accelerating this movement.”