UvA confirms intentions to leave Deutsche Bank
In a letter, the UvA confirms its intention to look for a more "sustainable" bank than its current principal banker, Deutsche Bank. Sustainability is not the only selection criterion, the UvA writes. "We can't choose just any bank."
The UvA wants to use a selection process to choose a new house banker, for which "sustainability" will be an important selection criterion. That is what the Executive Board (CvB) wrote last Monday, July 4, in an official response to the unsolicited advice of the Central Student Council (CSR) and the Green Office to switch to a "more sustainable" bank.
The CvB also states the reason why the official response took three months to arrive. The UvA is satisfied with the services of Deutsche Bank and was just in the process of restructuring and simplifying its financing portfolio. In that respect, switching to another bank was "not opportune" in the recent period. Meanwhile, a "broader set of (sustainability) criteria has come to the foreground", writes the Executive Board. The letter from the CSR "has underscored this point."
As far as sustainability is concerned, the Board is still non-committal. "We do not know yet which banks can provide the services required by the UvA, but we do know that not all banks have the systems and processes in place to facilitate the banking transactions of organizations of the size and nature of the UvA and "the ‘most sustainable’ bank may in fact be a bank that does not meet other important criteria”.
The Board proposes a planning process of three phases. In preparation, the BoE will appoint a consultant in 2022 who will begin the selection process in the first half of 2023. The actual transition to a new bank will start in mid-2023. The UvA will then be switched in mid-2024.
Because the payment processes of the UvA and the HvA are handled in the same administrative centre, the CvB wants to discuss the possibility of jointly participating in the selection process with the HvA.
Read the full letter below.
