About the report

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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTS IN 2008

Nedbank Group recognises that to appropriately identify business opportunities and to effectively manage risks while remaining relevant to the markets and the society within which we operate, depend on constructive engagements with all our stakeholders.

While this report represents one of the most significant means of engaging with our various stakeholders in the area of sustainability, Nedbank Group undertakes to continue such engagement throughout each year via daily formal and informal conversations and communications that occur throughout the organisation and with all internal and external stakeholders.

To respond timeously and most appropriately to the needs and expectations of our various stakeholders, Nedbank conducts all stakeholder engagements in terms of a decentralised model, which allows each business unit to engage directly with its relevant stakeholders to ensure that the relevant business unit responds most appropriately to the stakeholder feedback and to ensure that our reporting and other communication meet the expectations of the stakeholders. Such engagements are conducted within the general guidelines or parameters as provided by our Group Strategy and Corporate Affairs unit and as incorporated into our Policy for Reputational Risk Management. One exception to this decentralised approach exists in terms of our communications with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) in that all engagements with the SARB are conducted via our SARB liaison officer within Group Finance.

The following table lists the group’s key stakeholders with whom we have engaged in terms of the decentralised approach outlined above and indicates the rationale behind our interactions with each stakeholder group. The table provides some examples of engagements and outcomes.

The focus of our engagements was determined by our (i) strategic focus areas, (ii) in terms of our material reporting focus areas and (iii) according to business and stakeholder requirements. The nature of these interactions is dictated by the unique set of interests and objectives of each stakeholder group and their relationship with Nedbank Group.

Not all engagements resulted in feedback that required specific deliverables for Nedbank, and where no mention is made in the table of any specific feedback received, it can be taken that the feedback was positive and that what stakeholders expected of Nedbank was a continuation of the status quo.

  Stakeholder     Methods of interaction     Reasons for and
benefits of interaction		     Examples of engagements during 2008     Examples of sustainability initiatives as a
result of feedback received
  Shareholders
and analysts		    
  • Investor relations.
  • Local and international roadshows.
  • Ongoing formal and informal communication withshareholders and analysts.
  • Annual general meetings and other meetings.
  • Website.
  • Analyst briefings.
  • Feedback via broker reports.
    
  • Provide relevant and timeous information to current and future providers of capital to retain and increase investment in Nedbank Group shares.
  • Position Nedbank as a sound investment choice.
    
  • A total of 123 investor meetings as part of local and international roadshows following results announcements.
  • Participation in seven broker conferences.
  • An investor lunch held by Nedbank Corporate in Cape Town.
  • A presentation at the 11th Annual UBS Financials Conference.
  • A provisioning and credit policy presentation held by Nedbank Retail.
  • A total of 141 other management meetings with shareholders, analysts and rating agencies.
     Some concerns were raised at the Annual General Meeting regarding the composition of the board and the potential impact thereof on the independence of boardmembers.

Nedbank Group Executive Committee members highlighted that reviews of the board, board committees and each boardmember are conducted on an annual basis and that an external independent review is also conducted by the Institute of Directors on an annual basis.

Such reviews continued in 2008 and the board remains fully aware of the requirement of independence according to King II.

For further details, please refer to section 2 of this report.
  Government    
  • Government and public affairs business.
  • Support and advisory services.
  • Support of government social initiatives.
  • Input into legislative developments.
    
  • Build and strengthen relationships with government, both as a partner in the development of the country and as a current or potential client.
  • Provide input into the legislative development process that will affect the activities of the bank.
    
  • Ongoing interactions have occurred with government departments through our position on the FSC Council and through the submission of employment-related information to the Department of Labour.
    
  • Various engagements have contributed to securing five new public sector tenders in our Business Banking division.
  • A partnership concluded with the Department of Provincial and Local Government aims to boost ongoing government efforts to build capacity in targeted municipalities as part of Project Consolidate – a national hands-on support programme, aimed at revitalising local government. This partnership is proving to be one of the country’s most successful public-private partnerships.
  Regulatory bodies    
  • Ongoing meetings and interaction with regulators, including prudential visits, and statutory reporting.
    
  • Maintain a good relationship with regulators and ensure compliance with their requirements, thereby retaining Nedbank’s licence to operate.
    
  • Enterprise Governance and Compliance hosted a Regulator Day on 20 June at which a number of our regulators, including the FAIS Ombud’s Office, the Financial Services Board, the Banking Adjudicator, the Office of the National Credit Regulator, the Financial Intelligence Centre and SARB, engaged in dialogue with the governance and compliance fraternity and business representatives regarding the various regulatory intentions, challenges and expectations.
  • Our Group Risk division maintains good relationships with our various regulators on an ongoing ‘open line of communication’ basis.
  • SARB conducted a number of prudential visits during the year.
     Nedbank participants in the Regulator Day gained a deeper understanding of the focus areas and challenges faced by the various regulators. This deeper appreciation has translated into efforts to continuously improve our governance, compliance and risk management processes.

For further details please refer to section 2 of this report.
  Local communities/ NGOs    
  • Nedbank Foundation – ongoing support of projects and interaction with a wide variety of non-profit/government organisations. • Sustainability reporting.
  • Staff volunteerism programmes.
    
  • Create partnerships that will best facilitate Nedbank Group’s corporate social investment activities.
  • Obtain input from communities and representative NGOs regarding key focus areas.
  • Create awareness of Nedbank Group in communities.
    
  • Feedback from communities and NGOs obtained via our various staff participation programmes that run throughout the year.
     A survey conducted in respect of our Staff Team Challenge initiative indicated a need to consider additional incentives to enhance staff participation. In addition, employees would like to be allowed more time to participate in community activities.

Nedbank Foundation has responded accordingly and some of the feedback has already been incorporated into its programme.
  Suppliers    
  • Ongoing interaction with suppliers and contractors.
  • Supplier education workshops.
    
  • Maintain an ideal and timeous supply of goods and services for Nedbank Group’s operations.
  • Assist suppliers in ensuring their own viability through education, earlypayment terms and other support.
    
  • Several meetings were held with Mondi and Sappi, together with their primary distributors, Waltons and Bytes Technology – focused primarily on sustainability and carbon footprint initiatives.
  • Continued engagements with Green Office and Nashua – our primary office consumable providers – regarding the use of remanufactured toner cartridges for all Nedbank office equipment.
  • Regularly engaged with many other vendors regarding our, and their, sustainability initiatives, often focusing on reducing consumption and the associated environmental impact.
  • Certain vendors, such as Waltons, have also partnered with Nedbank on various social upliftment initiatives, which aim to contribute and give back to the communities in which we all operate.
  • We continue to promote our preferential procurement expenditure and have engaged with various industry bodies, such as the Black Businesswomen’s Association, to help identify companies with whom Nedbank may be able to form win-win relationships.
     Information received has enhanced our understanding of the indirect elements of our carbon footprint, which have been taken into consideration in our carbon footprint minimising initiatives, eg the implementation of our Supplier Code of Conduct and the inclusion of environmental criteria in our supplier onboarding questionnaire.
  Business partners    
  • Membership of industry associations and bodies and strategic partnerships.
    
  • Continue learning through interaction with industry and crosssectoral organisations.
  • Establish and build strategic partnerships.
  • Use business associations as a forum to promote Nedbank Group’s viewpoint on key issues.
    
  • Ongoing participation on all Banking Association working groups and projects remains a key imperative.
  • Engagements with other corporates through the NBI Sustainable Futures Advisory Committee.
  • Monthly engagements with our black business partners who are also represented on relevant Nedbank committees such as the Transformation and Sustainability Board Subcommittee.
     Learnings gained from interactions with the NBI have served to enhance our sustainability focus in a number of our business processes.

Cosponsorship of the SA CDP Leadership Index Report.
  The environment/ environmental NGOs    
  • Environmental/ sustainability partnerships with WWF-SA, UNEP FI and the National Business Initiative, among others, ensuring that clients undertake environmental impact assessments as part of their development processes.
    
  • Obtain input to ensure that Nedbank’s operations are taking place in the most environmentally responsible manner and complying with legislation in all jurisdictions.
    
  • Engage with WWF-SA on a six-weekly basis in accordance with the Conservation Partnership requirements.
  • Hosted WWF Corporate Partners Breakfast to engage with other business partners and clients.
  • Hosted the WWF National Renewable Energy Conference to engage with government and other corporates in terms of the renewable-energy sector.
  • Representation on various UNEP FI committees and workstreams.
     Engagements with WWF-SA have enhanced the robustness of our Equator Principles review and implementation process, eg sector guidelines drafted together with WWF-SA and presented to business areas by way of a number of workshops; WWF-SA representative attends the Group Environmental Forum.

Refer to section 8 for further details.
  Clients    
  • Business interaction via Nedbank outlets.
  • Client education workshops, client satisfaction surveys (performed both internally and by external service providers), client complaint lines and call centres as well as marketing and advertising activities.
    
  • Understand and resolve client concerns or complaints and utilise these to improve service.
  • Make current and potential clients aware of Nedbank Group products and services.
    
  • AskOnce service delivery campaign.
  • CMAT™ assessment.
  • Ask Afrika Orange Index.
  • Internal Client Satisfaction scores.
  • Client Complaints Tracker system.
  • Client education workshops conducted at our Green Shops.
     A need for client education highlighted and addressed through, among others, client education workshops conducted at our Green Shops.

Refer to section 4 for further details.
  Media    
  • Communication and marketing (external marketing of the Nedbank Group brand, values and product offerings) and interaction with the media on an ongoing basis.
    
  • Respond to questions or concerns raised in the media.
  • Work with the media as a communication channel to reach all stakeholders and position Nedbank as a bank of choice for all South Africans.
    
  • Staffmembers liaise daily with various media contacts regarding business-related issues. All press releases drafted are archived on the Nedbank internet sites and media relations contact details are also detailed there for ease of reference and contactability.
  • Entertainment media events were held on
    3 July and 30 October to provide an opportunity in an informal setting for Nedbank spokespeople to engage with media representatives.
     A formal relationship-building programme was implemented during 2008 with regular interactions between the media and various Nedbank business unit spokespeople.

No specific or additional actions were required according to feedback received during these sessions in 2008.

Nedbank is very proactive in its relationships with the media and we attempt to preempt any potential media comment/ feedback, where possible.
  Staff    
  • Staff cultural surveys. • Staff roadshows. • Ongoing communication via email, intranet, data casting and staff magazines.
  • Human resource management activities.
    
  • Ensure that Nedbank Group is an employer of choice by providing a safe and positive working environment. • Understand and respond to staff concerns and questions.
  • Provide all staff with information regarding the activities and strategic focus areas of the group.
    
  • Staff survey conducted and feedback provided.
  • Barrett Survey conducted and feedback provided.
  • Five formal face-to-face interactions between staff and Group Exco countrywide.
  • 3sixty internal magazine and online Engage updates to staff.
  • Two-day engagement on bank’s strategic direction held with top 100 managers in June 2008.
     Feedback from staff survey resulted in finalisation of our governance processes for people with disabilities (PWDs).

Introduced Flexible Work Practices in April 2008 to enhance the employee value proposition.

Voluntary HIV/Aids counselling and testing launched across the group.

Refer to section 5 for further details.
  Unions    
  • Group Human Resources manages labour relations with the unions on an ongoing basis and consults on any changes in working conditions as well as on remuneration issues.
    
  • Maintain a good relationship with the unions and obtain approval for any decisions/projects that require changes in working conditions.
    
  • Monthly and quarterly consultation engagements have been held with the unions by way of Special Joint Committee meetings.
  • Annual salary negotiation meeting also held with union representatives.
  • Workplace engagements take place via our employment equity forums.
     No specific or additional actions were required according to feedback received during 2008.