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Save&Save - Glitnir launches a new international deposit product
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Rajendra Pachauri joins the Board of Glitnir's Sustainable Future Fund.
Glitnir Bank has announced the launch of "Save&Save", a unique deposit product which the Bank will offer to customers in its two main markets of Iceland and Norway. In due course, Glitnir Bank will extend the product's reach into other international territories. The Save & Save concept will give customers a favourable interest rate while simultaneously allocating funds to a new global environmental fund whose objective is to support environmental projects, focused on sustainable energy and a sustainable seafood industry.
This unique attribute of the product is that Glitnir will add a minimum of 0.1% annually of total funds in Save&Save customer accounts, as a contribution to the development of the Glitnir Globe Sustainable Future Fund. Customers will therefore benefit from an attractive rate on their deposits while helping to address environmental issues. The Glitnir Globe Sustainable Future Fund is expected to become an important vehicle in financing research and development particularly within the areas of sustainable energy and a sustainable seafood industry, two fields of significant expertise for Glitnir. The Fund is expected to accumulate up to EUR 4 million within a few years, thus becoming one of the largest private funds supporting research into sustainable development.
The Fund's Board of Directors will include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Johann Olav Koss, CEO of Right To Play and Kristín Ingólfsdóttir, Dean of the University of Iceland together with Grete Waitz and Jack Waitz, the renowned Norwegian philanthropists. The Board will be chaired by Mr. Árni Magnusson, Managing Director of Glitnir's Sustainable Energy Team. The Board will be extended as the Save&Save concept grows into new markets.
Business has an important role in facilitating sustainable development
"The aim for our new deposit program will be to strengthen our position in international deposit markets. Our objective is to increase our total loan-to-deposit ratio from 35% to 50% over the next few years. I am confident that with this new deposit program, together with our niche sector strategy, we will further differentiate Glitnir from our competition in international markets" said Glitnir's CEO, Lárus Welding.
"Glitnir Bank wants to play its part as a creative force in our planet's future development by generating resources for the Glitnir Globe Sustainable Future Fund. The Fund's Board will make decisions on policy, and we hope to be able to make a difference with our initiative", said CEO Lárus Welding. Glitnir has already allocated initial capital of EUR 205,000 and expects that the Fund size will grow rapidly as the deposit product is launched in various markets.
"I am delighted and privileged to be on the Board of the Glitnir Globe Sustainable Future Fund. I am looking forward to working with Glitnir on this initiative", says Dr. Rajendra Pachauri in a comment. Dr Pachauri knows Glitnir well, based on his knowledge of the Bank's geothermal projects and through its expansion plans in India. Dr. Pachauri is an economist and environmental scientist who has served as the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2002. He is also the Director General of the Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, an institution devoted to researching and promoting sustainable development. On December 10, 2007, Dr. Pachauri accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the IPCC, together with co-recipient Al Gore.
The Centre of Excellence for the deposit project is located in Trondheim, Norway, where Glitnir works closely with IBM and EDB Business Partner AS to develop customer friendly products and services. Save & Save account holders will be invited to influence the selection of projects which will benefit from the initiative via a poll on the product's web pages.
For more information:
Bjørn Richard Johansen, Managing Director, Corporate Communication - Global,
mobile +47-47 800 100, e-mail: brj@glitnir.no and www.glitnirbank.com
Már Másson, Head of Corporate Communication - Iceland
Mobile +354 844 4990, e-mail: mm@glitnir.is
