We established a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy that serves as a direction, principle, and guiding framework for our community and social development activities covering the Bank and the subsidiaries in our financial business group. We have assigned the Public Relations Department to be the center responsible for initiating social and community development activities, as well as identifying resources and estimating required budgets. Our Business Units are also empowered to initiate and conduct social and community development activities related to their divisions. In this case, the Business Unit is responsible for supervising and monitoring the implementation of the activities to achieve their specified objectives. In addition, we encourage all employees to recognize the importance of developing local communities and society and provide opportunities for employees to participate in our various community and social development activities. We set strategies for community and social development initiatives by considering important factors such as the commitment to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ongoing challenges, engagement with stakeholders including business partners, and alignment with our strategies and expertise to ensure the activities supported by the Bank are mutually beneficial to the community and society, the Bank and our employees. We regularly communicate to employees about various activities and encourage employee participation according to their skills and interests. Our community and social development activities are categorized into six categories:

1. Supporting the well-being of communities and society
2. Supporting medical development and access to healthcare services for vulnerable groups
3. Promoting youth development and educational opportunities
4. Strengthening the agriculture sector and SMEs
5. Promoting and conserving Thai arts and culture
6. Nurturing religion

Corporate Social Responsibility Activities

Support the Well-Being of Communities and Society

• Utokapat Foundation and the Bualuang Foundation Joins the Community to Solve Drought Project
  
  We have continuously supported the Utokapat Foundation under the Royal Patronage of H.M. the King since its establishment so that we can play a part in continuing His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great’s initiatives to strengthen water resource management, provide clean water to the community and alleviate flood and drought problems. As water is vital to life, we have joined with the Bualuang Foundation and Utokapat Foundation to support the Bualuang Joins the Community to Solve Drought project for the third consecutive year. This collaboration enables communities to sustainably manage water and mitigate flood and drought problems by themselves, and provides people in the community with an adequate supply of clean water for consumption and agriculture, while they can also transfer knowledge and experiences to other communities facing similar problems. Over the past three years, the project has strengthened the community’s water management capability through infrastructure support such as building and improving weirs, ponds, reservoirs and solar water pumping systems for 61 communities in 38 provinces covering 35,341 rai of agricultural land. This has benefitted 21,651 households or 66,688 people, and conserved an additional 274,607 cubic meters of water. To mark the occasion of the Utokapat Foundation’s 10th anniversary, we co-organized the 2022 activity to outline the guidelines for “Social structure and a new economy based on the principles of sufficiency economy and modern agriculture methods”, along with a site visit to the successful Petchnam Nueng Community, Tha Yang District, Phetchaburi. We shared knowledge and guidelines on how to proceed with the development plan with communities, the private sector and related government agencies to promote the achievement of the community’s water resource management as aligned with His Majesty’s initiatives.


• Tongtin Inter Book
  
  Bangkok Bank promotes community knowledge and local wisdom through the Tongtin Inter book, which highlights community enterprises which had been profiled in our Caravan Samranjai television series. The book also features good ideas and local products as well as examples of successful and sustainable community brands, including tourist attractions, ways of life, arts and culture, and products and services. The book helps promote community business enterprises with the aim of helping them to grow continuously and move up the value chain. People can download the Tongtin Inter e-book for free.
  
  

Support Medical Development and Access to Healthcare Services for Vulnerable Groups

• Mobile Medical and Dental Unit
  
  We collaborated with the government and private sector to support the Mobile Medical and Dental Unit Foundation in providing free medical and dental services to underprivileged people in rural and remote areas across the country. Mobile services include medical treatments for general and specific diseases, fillings, tooth extraction, wisdom tooth removal, scaling, fluoride varnishing, sealant and denture fitting. In 2022, three mobile units were deployed in Uthai Thani, Phetchaburi, and Surat Thani provinces, treating 2,134 people, with 45 of our executives and employees from these areas volunteering to join the project. In addition, our Resuscitate Used Paper project distributed 5,000 recycled paper bags made from used calendars and papers to medical units and patients for carrying medicines and other items.


• BBL x BLOOD HERO x Plus 1 Project
  
  We supported the National Blood Center of the Thai Red Cross Society for the 27th consecutive year by organizing quarterly blood donations from our staff and executives as well as making contributions to various activities and projects. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of blood donations declined, resulting in a shortage of blood for patients. We therefore organized four blood donation activities at our Silom Head Office Building and Rama III Building, while also encouraging employees to donate blood at blood centers across the country under the BBL x BLOOD HERO x Plus1 project. Throughout 2022, a total of 1,205 employees and executives donated 1,004 units of blood or 462.4 liters, which can help approximately 3,500 patients.

Promote Youth Development and Educational Opportunities

We place great importance on creating opportunities for children and youth to access quality education as we believe a good education creates better life opportunities for children and helps them become responsible citizens.

• The CONNEXT ED Education Project
  
  In 2022, we continued our commitment to being a trusted partner for education by mobilizing 104 branch managers from 1031 branches from 56 provinces to act as School Partners to take care of 2402 Connext ED schools in 543 provinces. We encourage School Partners to develop their skills and adopt new perspectives to their work through online training, while also bringing knowledge, technologies and work experience gained during the Covid-19 pandemic to share with participating schools and communities. This helps build awareness about how to work and live in the New Normal and strengthen relations between the Bank and related parties.


• Notebook for Education
  
  The Covid-19 pandemic presented educational challenges in many areas, especially restrictions in accessing equipment and technologies. We have partnered with government agencies and the private sector to implement the Notebook for Education project, an online fundraising platform to increase access to notebook computers for children and youth in remote areas. We invited all sectors, including our executives and employees, to participate in the project by making donations to purchase the notebooks. We also facilitated notebook computer training for teachers on an Active Learning platform so they can teach students to use notebook computers properly.
  
  

Strengthen the Agricultural Sector and SME

• Modern Agriculture
  
  We started providing agricultural loans to farmers in 1963 and initiated the Modern Agriculture Project in 1999 to support capacity development and raise farmers’ incomes. Throughout this time, the Modern Agriculture Project has had various missions: educate farmers on how to increase productivity and improve product quality, support the development of farmers’ networks for sharing knowledge, co-create marketing opportunities, and support modern marketing and the use of modern technologies through various activities. Our activities have included seminars, conferences, and field studies to find successful modern farmers, and organizing of the Modern Agriculture Fair Day held in front of our Silom Head Office building as a venue for farmers, especially small farmers, to sell quality agricultural products directly to consumers, while also providing an opportunity for them to hear feedback directly from consumers.
  
  In 2022, with the easing of the Covid-19 situation, we resumed the Modern Agriculture Day 2022 under the concept of New Choices, Safety, Sustainability. A total of 42 farmers across the country joined the event as exhibitors which attracted more than 1,000 people and generated more than Baht 2.5 million in agricultural sales. We organized two Modern Agriculture’s Thinking Partners seminars which invited expert speakers and experienced farmers to discuss the topics of: The future of Thai Swine Farming After the ASF (Asian Swine Fever) Crisis, and Vietnam: Road to Success in Agricultural Exports. More than 340 people joined the events.
  
  

  



• Bualuang SME Club
  
  Bualuang SME Club was established in 2003 to create a cooperative SME network for exchanging knowledge, learning and expanding businesses. We have continuously supported the club’s activities including providing training, seminars, field studies, business matching, and providing the space in front of our Silom Head Office for the club’s members to sell their products at the annual Bualuang SME Fair. After temporarily suspending the Bualuang SME Fair during the Covid-19 pandemic, we resumed in 2022 to increase marketing channels and help SME generate more income as well as to allow consumers to purchase high-quality products at a special price directly from the manufacturer.

Promote and Conserve Thai Arts and Culture

Nourishing Religion

• Royal Kathin
  
  We were the first financial institution to be honored with the commission to present the Royal Kathin to temples under royal patronage in all regions across Thailand as well as temples in foreign countries. We have been honored with this prestigious role for the past 56 years. In 2022, we received His Majesty the King’s commission to present the Royal Kathin to Wat Phet Samut Worawiharn (Wat Ban Laem), a royal monastery in Samut Songkhram province. The ceremony was joined by our directors, executives and staff, along with representatives from Samut Songkhram provincial government agencies, other government agencies, private companies, customers, and the general public in the province, and donated Baht 15,185,395.60 to the temple to restore the living quarters of novices and monks.


• The 9th Grade Buddhist Theology Examination
  
  Nurturing religion is one of the Bank’s important missions. We hold a congratulatory luncheon ceremony to pay respect to monks and novices who passed their Buddhist theology examination in the ninth grade. In 2022, we held a ceremony to pay respect to 116 graduate Buddhist monks and novices (93 monks and 23 novices) from two graduation years as the ceremony was not held in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, consisting of 64 monks and novices who graduated in 2021 and 52 monks and novices who graduated in 2022. The ceremony was honorably chaired by Phra Phrom Moli, Councilor of the Sangha Supreme Council of Thailand, Maekong Pali Sanam Luang, and Mr. Deja Tulananda, the Bank’s Executive Chairman.