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2009 was a demanding year, not just for WesBank, but for all of our industry partners. We did not lose sight of our commitment to profitable growth, however, or to our goals of being the employer of first choice, remaining relevant and accessible to our customers and making a meaningful contribution to the environment and local communities.
The challenges of 2009 called for tough decision-making, particularly when it came to cost-cutting initiatives and a staff employment freeze.
Despite numerous changes within the organisation we maintained our customer focus. I am pleased to say that our Expertise Indicator (WesBank's measure of our service-standard and, more importantly, of customer loyalty) remained steady throughout the year. This is affirmation that the delivery of excellent service has remained part of WesBank's DNA. The Expertise Indicator result also confirms that the decisions we took during the past year and the implementation of new processes have been welcomed by our customers; and that customers are more likely to return to us as a result.
We recognise that remaining relevant and accessible to our customers in economically volatile times is always challenging.
We are proud that we have nevertheless succeeded in providing a sustainable value proposition to our customers through our successful partnership strategy with leading original equipment manufacturers in the automotive and other industries (agriculture, aviation, mining and construction, and motor manufacturing). During the period on which we are reporting we launched several new joint ventures across our Motor and Corporate Divisions.
These types of joint ventures would not be possible without the skill of our high-calibre staff. Our people are the heart of our business and our success depends heavily on the strength of our leadership and the ongoing improvement of our people-management standards. To demonstrate our commitment to people management and leadership, we have introduced a learner-leader programme for employees across all broadband salary levels.
Just as we recognise the value of enhancing our people's skill and happiness, we are cognisant of our need to constantly improve our environment. Energy-efficient developments at The Home of WesBank in Fairland illustrate the importance we attach to being a good corporate citizen, particularly in the area of environmental impact. In March this year we joined the global call to take a stand against climate change and switched off the lights of our Fairland building during Earth Hour.
Similarly, making a sustainable difference in underprivileged communities remains a key focus for WesBank, regardless of the economic climate. I am pleased to say that despite last year's challenges, the WesBank Fund met all programme imperatives and will be honouring all forward commitments.
Creating and ensuring sustainable food security at the micro-community level is a fundamental goal of the WesBank Fund. The Agricultural Knowledge-sharing Workshops pioneered by the WesBank Fund Committee in 2007 have evolved into a flagship programme for the Fund. The inaugural A re Lemeng/Let's get Planting Experiential Learning Workshop took place earlier this year with the aim of empowering members of underprivileged communities with the skills and knowledge to create and maintain their own home food gardens.
Our employees continually look beyond their own needs and make a sustainable difference in less fortunate communities. Our WesBank Volunteers activities have evolved from simple participation in house painting and food parcel distribution to activities that bring skill- and knowledge-empowerment to communities and help them become self-sufficient. Closer to home, in 2006 we introduced our employees to Kaizen, a Japanese philosophy and strategy for continual improvement. Our commitment to Kaizen initially took the form of an annual staff challenge, "Obsession for Continuous Improvement" and has since become successfully embedded in the WesBank culture. During the 2009 Kaizen Challenge WesBank completed 271 projects, effectively saving the Bank R100 million.
I am pleased to announce that the WesBank's Ethics Committee was formed in accordance with the FirstRand Ethics Management Framework. The Committee is constituted as a sub-committee to the WesBank Advisory Board and it has the authority to make decisions around ethical issues on behalf of management and will engage with WesBank Advisory Board where issues of an ethical nature need to be escalated for consideration and resolution.
A new FirstRand Group Code of Ethics has been adopted and will be launched within WesBank along with the anonymous hot-line during November 2010.
Last but by no means least, our procurement practices play a vital role in our contribution to the country's economic development. We will continue to promote sustainable efficiency within our supplier value chain to follow a set of sound sustainability management principles – a discipline which we maintain regardless of the nature of a business cycle.
In the same way, we remain committed to employing a sound, sustainable business model with all of our stakeholders, even during economically challenging times. Our Sustainability Report provides details of initiatives across our business illustrating our ongoing commitment to sustainability.
I hope this report will provide you with insight into what WesBank is doing to not only maintain its position as the leader in vehicle and asset finance, but to increase its contribution towards a better South Africa.
Brian Riley
CEO, Wesbank