Opening speech by Minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation Ben Knapen at the Responsible Finance Forum
Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to be here at this important event. I would like to share some opening thoughts on the relevance for development cooperation in the 21st century of the Principles for Investors in Inclusive Finance.
As I said in a recent letter to the Dutch parliament, the Millennium Development Goals and global public goods are key elements of our policy. We will be focusing on themes and areas where my country can make a difference. With an aid budget of 0.7% of GNP, the Netherlands remains a leader in international cooperation. This gives us scope to invest in our priorities: food security, sexual and reproductive rights and gender, security and the rule of law in fragile states, and water.
The main tool for making progress in these areas is economic growth. Only growth can help people to help themselves. The private sector, including financial institutions, is the key to growth. Provided of course that it acts in a sustainable way.
To have a sustainable relationship with customers in developing countries, financial institutions need two things: customer focus and patience. The goal is to make a difference in the long run. That means offering financial products that meet the real needs of real people.
The pros and cons of every financial product should be made absolutely clear to these customers, who are in a vulnerable position. No catch and no drawback should be concealed. This is in the interest of both the customers and the financial institutions themselves. George Bernard Shaw once reportedly said that principles are a poor excuse for making yourself unpopular. If he did, he was wrong. Research clearly shows that doing business sustainably is good for profits and generates a good corporate spirit.
Fairness and transparency are key to sustainability. They have two major benefits. First, they promote the emergence of impact investment – a new market in which investors aim at social or environmental gains – as a separate asset class. Second, they mobilise resources for development.
So I call on all banks, busy though they are cleaning up after the financial crisis and implementing Basel III, to endorse the Principles. Triodos, SNS and FMO have set a good example. I hope that more banks will follow in their footsteps in the near future. I’ve noticed that my own pension fund, APG, is on the list of signatories. As you can imagine, I am very satisfied with that.
I would like to congratulate Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima on the adoption of the Principles. I am convinced that the word will spread swiftly in the coming weeks, months and years, starting today.
Thank you.