Our role in the local community
Corporate Social Responsibility
When Sparebanken Vest was founded 200 years ago, it was a new way to think about banking. The bank was to be owned by its customers. Today, we have more than 300,000 owners, and everything we do, we do to make life in Western Norway even better.
We aim to make life even better for those growing up and settling down. For everyone who works hard, and for business owners who create jobs in Western Norway.
We will achieve this by caring about our customers, helping people where they are, being easy to bank with and by providing important advice along the way. This sense of community gives us a unique strength to deal with major challenges.
Priority areas
Through three central areas, we aim to contribute to making Western Norway an even better place to live – both now and in the future.
Inclusion
We believe everyone deserves to be part of the team. We support measures that create a sense of belonging and ensure that fewer people fall outside of school, work, and social life.
Vibrant communities
We promote art, culture, sports and volunteering to achieve open and active local communities that strengthen Western Norway today – and for the future.
The green shift
We will continue to give momentum to ideas and projects that contribute to the rapid transformation and that help Western Norway take a position in new, green value chains.
Social dividend
Since the region owns about 60 per cent of Sparebanken Vest, part of the profit goes back to the communities in Western Norway. The
social dividend is a way for the bank to help ensure that the region is an attractive place to live and work also in the future. The bank shall support regional initiatives that strengthen local communities, and give the people of Western Norway new knowledge and financial support to make the transition to a more sustainable society.
Voluntary teams, clubs and organisations, sports clubs, festivals and various knowledge clusters in Western Norway have been awarded a total of more than NOK 2 billion in social dividend from Sparebanken Vest and Sparebankstiftelsen Sparebanken Vest over the past ten years.
The bank is also a visible and powerful force in creating jobs for the next generation in the region.
Agenda Vestlandet
Western Norway is Norway’s largest growth engine, and the region plays a critically important role in the extensive transition that Norway must now undergo. Sparebanken Vest has therefore established the Agenda Vestlandet foundation, and earmarked NOK 300 million for sustainability and green transition initiatives.
The bank will be a source of inspiration and help to ensure that industry, clusters and educational institutions succeed in realising the region’s potential, especially with regard to sustainability. The foundation Agenda is dedicated to this work.
Customer dividend
Like the social dividend, the customer dividend is an important part of the savings bank model whereby customers in the region and local communities are awarded a share of the profit.
The customer dividend is strongly rooted in the fundamental values of a savings bank. Sparebanken Vest’s customers own a stake in the bank, and the bank therefore shares its profit with them. In 2023, Sparebanken Vest paid a customer dividend of NOK 580 million.
It is important for the bank that customers can take part in its value creation, and it is natural that large parts of the profits the bank creates together with the customers should benefit them.
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