Banca Comercială Română (BCR) publishes the Consolidated Sustainability Report for 2024, through which it supports its commitment to sustainability, financial inclusion and business integrity. The report presents the concrete results recorded in the strategic directions for the bank: education and financial health, the transition to a sustainable economy and the decarbonization of industrial chains, support for communities and responsible governance.
This report is part of the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), the new European standard that supports companies to report transparently and in detail their impact on the environment, society and governance. The reports are based on the ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group) and are subject to audit, providing investors, partners and the public with a clear picture of non-financial performance.
“Beyond the European convergence exercises, this type of reporting is also a form of expressing our values and consolidating trust capital. For BCR, performance starts with a solid governance model and business decisions that create real value in society, while our services and products make a difference in the lives of our customers. Our future is about banking based on expertise, integrity and impact, built together with people who trust that they can do better, in their family, in their professional life and in the community”, said Sergiu Manea, CEO of Banca Comercială Română.
In 2024, BCR granted new sustainable financing worth over 2.75 billion lei to corporate clients. Of this, 1.1 billion lei was directed to renewable energy projects, and over 790 million lei to the green construction and real estate sector.
The bank’s strategic objective is that, by 2026, green financing will represent 25% of the total portfolio. At the end of 2024, they already represented 11.3% of the corporate financing portfolio, while in the retail segment, sustainable mortgage loans reached a share of 20.1%, exceeding Erste Group’s target of 15% set for 2027. Sustainable financing granted in 2024 in the retail segment was approximately 615 million lei.
At the same time, BCR recorded a 71% reduction in operational CO₂ emissions, compared to the reference year 2017, consolidating its trajectory towards climate neutrality.
“The transition to sustainability means more than green financing or decarbonizing the industrial chain. It is a broad process, which requires solid governance, ethical behavior and an organizational culture built on transparency and integrity. At BCR, we ensure that every employee has the necessary framework and tools to actively contribute to this change. And each of us has the power to generate impact, because when we choose to do things better in our own space – whether we are talking about the team, the community or the environment – we contribute to a transformation greater than we imagine. At BCR, we encourage this individual responsibility, because we know that sustainability is not built only through policies, but through daily, assumed and coherent choices”, declared Ioana Voinescu, Head of ESG, BCR.
To date, over 1.8 million Romanians have benefited from BCR’s financial education initiatives, through the Money School program and through Financial Coaching, a personalized financial planning tool that takes into account each person’s profile, consumption behavior and long-term goals.
Money School is the largest financial education program in Romania and has reached over 800,000 beneficiaries, of which approximately 250,000 are children and young people. In 2024 alone, over 140,000 people participated in free workshops, online and offline. At the same time, the program is also recognized as the largest corporate volunteer initiative in Romania, with over 2,000 BCR employees constantly involved, since 2016, in supporting financial education sessions.
In addition, financial education efforts are also supported by innovative functionalities such as the FinCoach area in the George app, which contributes to an integrated experience and strengthens BCR’s role as a trusted digital partner. Another important project to accelerate the degree of banking and financial inclusion is the BCR mobile unit, which in 2024 traveled over 6,000 kilometers in 12 localities, providing access to banking services and products, as well as financial education courses for over 1,500 people in rural areas.
