Responsible finance

Responsible finance – EFSE’s approach

The European Fund for Southeast Europe is committed to promoting responsible finance practices in a very practical and hands-on manner.

The dimensions of responsible finance that EFSE cares about include various levels:

End-borrower level
Partner Lending Institution level
Financial sector level
Fund and investor level

At a glance -
Responsible finance in action

Alongside strong growth with high quality standards, EFSE demonstrates its commitment to responsible finance through action by:

adhering to responsible investing principles,
raising awareness of responsible finance among financial sector stakeholders,
conducting research on responsible finance practices,
promoting financial literacy among end-borrowers,
requiring partner lending institutions to adopt high standards of business ethics as well as transparent and adequate credit technologies,
promoting sound environmental and social management in partner lending institutions
promoting financial literacy among end-borrowers and fostering responsible financial products,
supporting the use of cash-flow based lending technologies that respond to the specific economic profile of the target clientele, and
refraining from promoting consumer lending.

"The EFSE Development Facility strongly promotes responsible finance practices. Several seminars and conferences in the region have been organized, increasing overall awareness and setting standards for responsible finance. These events were made possible through the cooperation of central banks, ministries, banks and microcredit organizations as well as other local stakeholders and development finance institutions – in particular KfW. In addition, an exemplary study on the access of low-income households to financial services, with over 900 participants, was conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina."