Winning Streak
Samsung Securities (CEO Yoon Yong-am) has made it onto the 2015 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). This is the sixth year for Samsung Securities to be listed in the DJSI World, and the first time for a Korean financial institution to be continuously recognized by DJSI World for this length of time.
Samsung Securities was first incorporated into DJSI World in 2010, and has been listed every year since then. Samsung Securities has also been continuously listed on DJSI Korea since its inception in 2009.
The assessment is also industry-specific. Being listed on DJSI World is a rarity among companies in the Diversified Financials sector; this year, only 12 worldwide financial institutions out of 317 selected companies in Diversified Financials are listed. These companies are Samsung Securities, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and UBS.
When asked about tips for continuously being recognized for longevity potential by the prestigious DJSI World, a spokesperson for Samsung Securities said, “Despite high risks, the majority of financial institutions tend to pursue short-term profits with a potential for high returns. But Samsung Securities insists on the opposite, engaging in a wide range of activities that orient Samsung Securities toward sustainable growth. Such activities enhance internal compliance, rigorous brand management, financial management, and risk management. Samsung Securities also pays great attention to ways to sustain employee retention rate, and save energy, and to contribute to the welfare of society. To this end, under the administration department, the company set up a strategy-planning team specifically in charge of management of corporate sustainability performance.”
The spokesperson for Samsung Securities also noted, however, that there is no direct link between being incorporated into DJSI and sales. But the spokesperson did admit that having the company name on the DJSI clearly serves to raise brand value. For instance, Samsung Securities was selected as one of the Top 50 brands in Korea, a ranking sponsored by Interbrand Korea. In addition, the spokesperson noted that being listed on the DJSI helps increase the company’s share value about by about 1 percent.
Samsung Securities also notes that complying with the expectations set by the DJSI criteria and the process of data collection by the DJSI serve to promote a sense of unity within the company. The spokesperson noted that as members of the company understand the concept of “sustainability performance,” and how they can contribute to enhancing the company’s competitiveness in the area, the new values and efforts serve to bring employees closer together.
Overall, Samsung Securities received high scores across economic, social, and environmental criteria set by the DJSI. In particular, Samsung Securities earned the highest scores on economic criterion including risk management, code of conduct, brand management, and CRM. Samsung Securities also earned satisfying scores in Social Responsibility criterion, doubling the average score for the industry. However, as far as environmental criterion is concerned, there proved to be some room for improvement. A company spokesperson said, “Mediocre scores in environmental criteria are a commonality among companies in the financial sector, but Samsung will try to improve on it.”