The National Center for Social Responsibility, in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Housing and sponsorship of Bank Albilad, launches the awareness and educational “Savings in Home” initiative, the first of its kind in the Kingdom. The initiative has been designed in cooperation with partners, with the aim of raising the culture of savings in building homes and correcting some misconceptions about the lifestyle in the field of construction. This is to be achieved through more than 30 programs that include seminars, forums, workshops and courses presented by a group of specialists, experts and decision-makers in this field from academics in a number of Saudi universities and the Ministry of Housing.

One of the goals of the initiative is to highlight the advantages of saving in housing, starting with the house area and ending with all other related aspects.  Saving in housing is intended to be a way of life for Saudis when it comes to searching for and buying homes. The initiative also enhances financial awareness among community members, and creates programs directed to the purpose of saving, the most important of which is saving in housing, which represents one of the important obstacles for a segment of people, in addition to the high prices of housing units. It also aims at encouraging the culture of savings between employees and citizens, with more emphasis on long-term savings plans.

Also, one of the initiative’s goals is to encourage citizens to own (an interim) home that matches their capabilities and needs. The initiative also highlights the high costs of big houses, including electricity, water and maintenance costs as well as periodic improvements. It sheds light on different ways to raise income and improve the investment environment for individuals. The initiative also aims to provide housing solutions that suit different categories and help improve living conditions for current and future generations. It also highlights saving in housing as a lifestyle that should be taught to future generations.  Moreover, the initiative sheds light on different ways of obtaining real estate financing in light of financial savings plans applied. 

On the occasion of Bank Albilad’s sponsorship of this initiative, Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Anizan, CEO of the bank said: “Bank Albilad works continuously to encourage the concept of savings and to spread the culture of financial awareness in the community. We have achieved the desired goals of the savings initiative that was implemented in stages. The first phase was aimed at our children from different categories and provide them with skills that help improve their financial and economical practices through training.  The second phase sought to spread the culture of savings among employees in a number of ministries and government agencies participating in the program.”

“Bank Albilad also seeks to have a leading role in various economic sectors, the most important of which is the housing sector, which the bank targeted in cooperation with the Ministry of Housing and the Saudi Center for Social Responsibility to educate citizens about the importance of developing and improving financial management, savings plans, and setting basic priorities for a housing suitable for their needs and capabilities," Al-Anzan added. 

It is noteworthy that Bank Albilad pays attention to community service under the umbrella of social responsibility programs #Albilad_Initiative, which exceeds more than 54 programs and initiatives to serve the community, the most prominent of which is the Comprehensive Access Branch (Al Takhassusi Branch in Riyadh) with all the capabilities necessary to serve people with disabilities. This in addition to the launch of the banking sign dictionary to enable people with hearing disabilities to perform their transactions with confidence and ease. Also, the bank’s ATMs around the Kingdom have been adopted for the use of the blind and people with disabilities, through the development of special software and ground guiding paths. Moreover, Bank Albilad provides “Fazkironi” application for smart devices, which has more than two million and five hundred thousand users. The application includes prayer times, Qibla directions, supplications and adhkaar. Bank Albilad also provides many innovative community initiatives that have a sustainable impact on environmental development. Bank Albilad recently launched a qualitative initiative in the field of environment protection by establishing a Solar System in Albilad Tower, distributed over an area of 1743 square meters. This initiative is regarded as one of the largest initiatives to use renewable and sustainable energy to preserve the environment, which significantly assist in supplying Albilad Tower with clean energy that would reduce environmentally harmful carbon emissions and reduce consumption costs.

You can view all CSR programs and initiatives offered by Bank Albilad by visiting #Albilad_Initiative page on Bank Albilad's website www.bankalbilad.comBank.