About the Awards

ECCU Bank of the Year Awards

The ECCU Bank of the Year Awards recognise the banks which have made outstanding contributions to the overall development of the people they serve through everyday business practices. The Awards are presented to the banks that are adjudged to have demonstrated service excellence and corporate responsibility in the following selected areas:  

1.  Corporate Social Responsibility

2.  Customer Service

3.  Financial Education and Empowerment

4. Support to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

5.  Technological Innovation

6. ECCU Distinguished Bank of the Year Award

Awards Recipients: 2019 - 2024

Criteria for Awards

All commercial banks operating in the ECCU, which are licensed under the Banking Act, are eligible to submit entries for the ECCU Bank of the Year Awards. Banks may submit entries for as many categories as desired.

General Entry Information

• Entry to the ECCU Bank of the Year Awards is free via the Bank of the Year Electronic Portal.
• Each submission    must    be completed    in    a separate online entry form.
• If a bank  is entering more than one award category, it will need to complete one online form for each award.
• All details submitted, including those of references, is held in strictest confidence.
• Submissions   in   a  category should   describe the activity or initiative undertaken by the bank  and should outline how the initiative has impacted customers/members   of  the community, improved the institution’s effectiveness and furthered its goals and objectives.
• The ECCB is   likely to   ask   for   client   and/ or    other    references   during    the shortlisting phase. These references are important as they assist the judges in assessing the submissions.
• The quality of each entry can affect the outcome of judging for each category. Information should therefore be presented in a clear, concise and logical format.
• Banks may amend their submission(s) at any point and resubmit up until the entry deadline. However, only the last uploaded version of an entry will be assessed.

Entry Requirements:

• A statement, no longer than 1000 words, explaining why the bank should receive the Award in the respective category.
• Supporting material must accompany each entry. This may include images, testimonials, letters, procedures, video clips, social media posts, newspaper articles etc.
• The name and contact information of  the person to be contacted regarding the entry in the event there are any questions or queries.
• A brief statement of no more than 100 words to be used as the description of each entry for the online voting element. Voters will cast their votes based on this statement.

Assessment of Categories

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Award for Corporate Social Responsibility is presented to the bank that demonstrates how it exhibits company values through positive influence on surrounding communities, taking into account the following:

• Need of the community (environmental, youth, women and senior citizens programmes, sponsorships etc);
• Programme uniqueness; sustainability and creativity;
• Impact; and
• Bank employees’ engagement.

Customer Service

Recognition and award for Customer Service goes to the bank which delivers highly personalised commercial and   retail banking products and services. The bank should prove through its submission:

• Clearly stated policies and best practices promoting customer service excellence
• Customer feedback programmes
• Customer appreciation programmes
• Commitment to customer service excellence via the continued development of staff
• Improvement of facilities and services

Financial Education and Empowerment

The award for Financial Education and Empowerment goes to the bank which demonstrates commitment by devoting resources to promote a better understanding of financial services and products, entrepreneurship, and general savings and    investments issues. This could involve at least two of the following:

• Participation in Financial Information Month (FIM) Festival
• Participation in or coordination of outreach programmes promoting entrepreneurship, savings and investments
• Provision of small business credit and advisory services
• Spear-heading of initiatives to educate citizens about asset management and protection

Support to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

MSMEs are widely recognised for the invaluable contributions they make to economic growth, job creation, and provision of public goods and services. The award for Support to MSMEs goes to the commercial bank which shows commendable efforts in assisting these organisations through lending and other support such as:

• Approved guarantees
• Dollar value of accummulated guarantees
• Promotional/sensitisation efforts
• New jobs created due to financing
• Funding to women entrepreneurs
• Creation of business unit or digital support systems for MSMEs
• Collaborative efforts with organisations that support MSMEs

Technological Innovation

The bank which receives the Award in this category would have shown in its submission novel delivery of initiatives or policies that enhance the bank’s products and services by providing innovative technological solutions for market needs. This could include:

• Use of digital channels to enhance customer experience;
• FinTech initiatives; and
• Efficiency in use of technology

ECCU Distinguished Bank of the Year Award

Amidst adverse economic conditions, commercial banks remain instrumental in the development of new markets niches and advancing their clients’ personal and/or business efforts. They face industry challenges and devise initiatives to meet customers and market needs. The banks vying for the ECCU Distinguished Bank of the Year Award, will be assessed based on their capacity to transform challenges into opportunities within a dynamic business landscape. An entry for the ECCU Distinguished Bank of the Year Award should include:

1. Strategic Initiative – Present ONE strategic initiative, no longer than 1000 words, that the bank has undertaken in the past 12 months (September of previous year to August of current year) which has given the institution a competitive edge in the market. This could involve acquisition, investment, reorganisation, transformative programmes etc.; and
2. Submissions for Customer Service and at least two other categories, from the following:
   1. Corporate Social Responsibility;
   2. Financial Education and Empowerment;
   3. Support to MSMEs; and
   4. Technological Innovation

The bank that amasses the highest overall score will be awarded the ECCU Distinguished Bank of the Year Award. 

Selection of Awardees

The entries will be assessed by a panel of judges selected by the ECCB.

The judging process will include: assessment of the entries; selection of a shortlist for each category; interviews with shortlisted banks and online voting scores. Banks are allowed to encourage members of their communities to  cast their votes online. The ECCB will alert the banks once the voting feature is available.

The entries will be assessed based on information provided by the banks outlining their contributuion and participation in the respective categories using a points system amounting to 100 for each category. The final overall score includes:

• The submission (50%);
• Interview (30%); and
• Online voting by the public (20%).
  The bank that amasses the highest score in each category will receive the ECCU Bank of the Year Award in the respective category.

Recognition of awardees

The ECCU Bank of the Year Award is the only one of its kind in the ECCB member countries. The Awardees will be announced via the ECCU media and published on the ECCB website and Social Media platforms.