Who can contribute cases to the Advisory Panel on Responsible Banking?

• Cases must involve financial services, with a focus on corporate lending and project financing.
• Cases should not be submitted in the expectation of mediation or intervention by the panel; this falls outside the panel’s remit.
• Cases should relate to responsible banking in the spirit of the OECD guidelines and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
• Cases should involve financial services linked to one or more participating banks. The Panel will inform banks when a case will be discussed that the bank is involved with.
• In general, the goal is to ensure that the selected cases cover a range of challenges that the financial sector can learn from for future cases. The panel will be guided in part by the extent to which a case is relevant to the sector more generally. Cases will be selected based on the number of other comparable cases related to the financial sector that commonly occur in countries or sectors, an evaluation of the likelihood of providing a clear recommendation, client consent and the interests of all stakeholders involved.

• Cases can be submitted to the Advisory Panel by e-mail: advisorypanel@nvb.nl.
• Please include the following information in your e-mail:
  o   The context of the case: what are the circumstances and what is the nature of the dilemma involved, including a description of the sector and/or the country to which that dilemma relates.
  o   The relationship between the case and responsible banking in the spirit of the OECD guidelines and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Other additional material, such as the Equator Principles or publicly available policies of banks can also be submitted.
  o   Wider relevance to the sector: to what extent can the financial sector as a whole learn from this case. Ideally, the case should be supported by examples of comparable situations or arguments that demonstrate why this case will be useful in relation to comparable future cases in the portfolios of the participating banks, with a specific focus on a country or sector.
  o   Contact details for a named contact person. The case may not be submitted anonymously.

• The Advisory Panel will inform the contact person within seven days of receiving the case to confirm receipt.
• The Advisory Panel will inform the contact person whether the case will be accepted within two months.
• If the case is accepted, it will be assessed by the panel within four months and translated into an advice for a country or sector, with an accompanying step-by-step plan. The advice will be shared via the NVB website.

For more information about the Advisory Panel on Responsible Banking you can contact Maryse Hazelzet via hazelzet@nvb.nl.