FAQs

What is the geographic scope of Prudential’s CR Reporting?

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Prudential plc is a leading international financial services group, providing retail financial services and fund management in its chosen markets: the UK, the US, Asia and continental Europe. Prudential has been writing life insurance in the UK for over 150 years and has had the largest long-term fund in the UK for over a century. Today, Prudential has over 21 million customers worldwide and over £250.7 billion (as at 31st December 2006) of funds under management. Our CR Report outlines our strategy and reviews activities across Prudential plc. It covers our four directly managed businesses: Prudential UK and Europe, M&G, Jackson National Life (JNL) and Prudential Corporation Asia. This year, we are including data and commentary on Egg, for the first time, as the internet bank was fully within Prudential's ownership during the reporting period. However, on 29 January 2007 we announced that we had entered into a binding agreement to sell Egg Banking plc, our UK banking business, to Citigroup. Under the terms of the Agreement, the consideration payable is £575 million in cash subject to adjustment to reflect any change in asset value between 31 December 2006 and completion. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to complete by the end of April 2007.

How long have you had a CR programme?

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Prudential has always had a focus on the topics and issues involved and has, since its foundation, always sought to exemplify best practice when dealing with all our stakeholders. Our CR policy was formalised across the group in 2001. Before this time Corporate Responsibility initiatives were devolved across the business; their implementation remains devolved across the business now.

What is the CR governance process of Prudential’s CR strategy?

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Prudential's Group Finance Director, Philip Broadley, has board-level responsibility for social, environmental and ethical risk management. The Board reviews and approves the CR Report and Strategy on an annual basis. The Corporate Responsibility Committee (CRC), is a specialist internal committee reporting to the Group Finance Director on significant social, ethical or environmental risks and opportunities facing the Group. The Group's Corporate Responsibility team sets strategy, and co-ordinates and profiles the Group's approach to social, environmental and ethical issues. The CR team is Secretariat to the CRC, working closely with functions such as Group Health, Safety and Environment which is also represented on the CRC.

What proportion of revenues does Prudential devote to Community Investment?

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Prudential is committed to supporting the communities where it is an employer. In 2006 the Group spent £4.7 million in support of the community. Within this, direct donations to charitable organisations amounted to £3.15 million.

Why is financial literacy a core part of your Group CR programme?

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The issue of low levels of confidence in long-term savings and how we react to this issue will affect confidence in our brand as well as our profitability. One way of restoring this lack of confidence is to increase levels of financial literacy to enable consumers to make confident choices about their financial future and better understand the options that are available to them. We are focussing on an area where we can lend our experience and expertise, as well as giving cash. We know from our charity partners (such as Citizens Advice) that there is a demand for financial education – it is a relatively new service and much of our investment is dedicated to helping to determine the most effective teaching methods.

What other CR programmes do you have in place?

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For more information go to www.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/cr/ or request ‘Acting Responsibly’, our CR report, that was published in May 2006.

Will Corporate Responsibility policies be included in the internal audit/risk management framework?

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Our corporate responsibility policy features within the Group's Internal Governance Manual. Business Unit CEOs are required to certify annually that they have either adhered to the requirements of this manual or that they have been granted exemptions by the policy owners. The Group's decentralised structure means that Group Head Office doesn't mandate any specific actions that must be taken by business unit CEOs to evidence policy sign-off, beyond the above. However, Group Internal Audit Reviews compliance with all components of the manual, including corporate responsibility. Please note, the Group Governance Manual is not a public document.

As one of the UK’s leading insurers, does M&G have an ethical investing policy?

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M&G, the investment management arm of Prudential, has clearly formulated SRI policies. We expect well managed business as a matter of course to take account of wider social and environmental issues in taking their businesses forward and find it helpful if they publish the guidelines they adopt in dealing with them. We look for a well reasoned and practical approach and recognise that this can vary according to each company's circumstances. If we were to consider that a company was running significant risks by failing to manage CR issues properly we would certainly discuss the issues with the company's management and our conclusions on this point would contribute to the overall investment judgement on the company's management. We have raised CR issues with investee companies on many occasions, being sensitive to reputational issues and those likely to have a material impact on future profitability.