A $1.9 million donation to the Bermuda College Foundation is among the highlights of the 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Report released by Athene Holding Ltd.

The donation by the Bermudian-based financial services company, announced in October, will go towards the building of a Career Development Centre at the College.

Athene said it remains focused on ensuring the company's initiatives reflect responsible business practices that create a lasting positive impact for all stakeholders.

It said that during an extraordinary year, the report showcases the many ways in which Athene added value for customers and the broader community in 2020.

Jim Belardi, chief executive officer and chairman of Athene, said: "As our company has grown, so has our commitment to our stakeholders. We respect the responsibility and opportunity before us to serve as a source of strength, for not only our customers and employees but also for the communities and the industry where we operate.”

The company said highlights of the company's CSR progress in 2020 also included:

• Donated meaningful contributions of time and resources in its communities, which included more than 3,000 hours of cumulative employee volunteering and providing over 17,000 books to childcare centres and education programmes.

• Donated nearly $2.5 million to worthy causes, including $1 million to United Way through employee contributions and the Athene USA Charitable Foundation.

• Formally established board-level oversight of the company's CSR programme by the Legal and Regulatory Committee.

• Approved a CSR Charter to formalise the CSR Committee.

• Established three high-level goals to serve as a companywide call to action on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion matters. These goals include:

• Deepening employees' knowledge on critical DEI issues,

• Increasing the diversity of its workplace, and

• Further building a culture of inclusion.

• To help promote a more inclusive workplace and society at large, Athene signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge.

• Enhanced focus on furthering gender diversity in the financial services and insurance sector. Women comprise 33 per cent of Athene’s senior leadership team and represented 54 per cent of new hires in 2020.

• Published additional socially-driven policies that help govern its business to ensure Athene maintains the company's high standards of integrity and excellence.

Mr Belardi said: "I am incredibly proud of our progress and I look forward to seeing the maturation of our corporate social responsibility programme in the coming years."

Athene's CSR Report can be found at Athene.com/CSR.