Financial health, a strategic priority for banking and investment with social impact

Financial inclusion is no longer just a question of access to bank accounts: the real challenge is to ensure the financial health of vulnerable groups. This is highlighted in the report "Financial health: a shared value approach for the financial sector", prepared by the Social Impact Chair at Comillas Pontifical University and Management Solutions, which analyses how banking can contribute to social and economic well-being through inclusive products, financial education and rigorous impact measurement.

The study reveals that, although 79% of adults worldwide have a bank or mobile account, significant gaps persist in regions such as Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Also in Spain, where financial inclusion is 98%, digitalisation and branch closures pose challenges for the elderly and rural areas. Thus, for banks and impact investors, the report identifies opportunities in basic payment accounts, microcredits, microinsurance and digital solutions that reduce structural barriers, always accompanied by inclusive strategies that mitigate the digital divide.

According to Alejandra Kindelán, president of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), "digitalisation is inclusion, because it broadens access and reduces costs, but it also requires reinforcing personalised attention for groups such as the elderly and guaranteeing access to cash throughout the territory".

In this sense, Carlos Ballesteros, Director of the Comillas ICADE Social Impact Chair, emphasised that "there are still vulnerable groups that may be excluded from access to financial services due to technological, educational or social barriers", which is why "it is important to offer affordable, understandable and adapted products, and to have rigorous measurement systems that allow us to evaluate the real impact of the initiatives".

Soledad Díaz-Noriega, partner at Management Solutions, stressed that "this study allows us to reflect on the current situation in Spain and Latin America, identify vulnerable groups and understand that financial inclusion is not only formal access, but also education, effective use and real improvement of financial health".

The report concludes that financial inclusion not only generates individual well-being, but also boosts economic growth and system stability. For those committed to impact investing, this area offers a unique opportunity: combining profitability with social transformation, contributing to a fairer and more sustainable financial ecosystem.