Saudi Banks Media and Awareness Committee announced that the total investments and contributions of Saudi banks during 2022 were worth more than SR417 million, which comes within its commitment to social responsibility in the economic, educational, health, and other fields. Banks have contributed directly and indirectly to achieve a positive impact, thanks to the systematic and clear plans included, which focused on the concept of sustainability in its three dimensions: social, environmental, and economic. A report issued by the Saudi Banks Committee recently showed that the areas of these contributions covered several sectors, including health, education, environment, community service and charitable support, financial culture, economic development and entrepreneurship, small and medium enterprises, and what falls under it. However, the education and health sectors accounted for the largest share. The number of beneficiaries from those social contributions has reached about 4.5 million beneficiaries at the level of the regions, governorates, and cities of the Kingdom, while the number of volunteers participating from employees of Saudi banks in some projects and initiatives that fall under corporate social responsibility reached around 2,500 volunteers, who spent about 25,000 volunteer hours in various projects during the year 2022. The social responsibility projects adopted and implemented by Saudi Banks during that period reflected a clear systematic focus on sustainability and innovation, it also enhanced transparency and governance; which helped accordingly in defining clear indicators of measurement and performance, which would enhance the role and performance of banks, whether in terms of developing their banking experience or expanding their activities and initiatives. These projects are accompanied by several activities that reflect positively on society, economy, environment, customers, employees, and stakeholders, as well as supporting the government's role in providing services to society and financing development projects of all kinds. It also enhances the level of social solidarity, in a way that contributes to achieving the aspirations of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and meeting the objectives of the financial sector development program. Moreover, several studies confirm the existence of a clear positive relationship between the social responsibility of Saudi Banks and their financial performance, whether in terms of return on assets or return on equity, indicating that customers respond more actively to banks that play an influential role in corporate social responsibility projects and programs. It is noteworthy that one of these studies, entitled "The Impact of Social Responsibility on the Financial Performance of the Banking Sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," calls for increasing social awareness of social responsibility in a way that benefits banks, their customers, its local community, and its financial performance.
