With immense sadness we learned of the sudden death of our colleague and mentor, Raúl Hernandez Coss, over the weekend. He was in Bogota at the time, engaged in what he was so committed in doing, helping to extend financial services to assist the vulnerable in society.
Raúl’s contribution to the global financial inclusion agenda is impressive and well documented, from his path-breaking work on remittances, to being instrumental in the establishment of global bodies dedicated to advancing financial inclusion. The legacy of his contributions will last for a long time to come and will serve as an inspiration for financial inclusion practitioners now and in the future.
In the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion and in particular as a Data and Measurement Subgroup Co-Chair, Raúl was a driving force for much that was done. Raúl kept us focused on the developmental purpose of collecting financial inclusion data. His deep insight, total commitment to achieving sustainable development outcomes and vast experience across many environments was critical to achieving the G20 Basic Set of Financial Inclusion Indicators. The relationships he formed with so many actors in the financial inclusion landscape smoothed the way for our efforts.
What will stay with us, over and above the quality of his contribution to the content and outcome of the groups in which he so passionately participated, is the essence of Raúl as a man – the continual willingness to help, the respect he invariably gave and consequently received the unflinching integrity and, his dedication to doing what was right.
As a colleague, leader, and mentor, he was one of a kind and we feel privileged to have worked with him. We wish our association could have lasted much longer. We in the international financial inclusion community will do well to always keep in mind his example of what to strive for and how to engage in this quest to help others towards a better future.
Co-Chairs of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion Data and Measurement Subgroup:
Roelof Goosen, Director of Financial Inclusion, South African National Treasury
Ruth Goodwin-Groen, Senior Sector Specialist: Financial Inclusion, Australian Agency for International Development
Anuradha Bajaj, Head - Investment and Finance Team, Department for International Development, United Kingdom
Nina Bilandzic, Operations Analyst, Access to Finance, International Finance Corporation
Massimo Cirasino, Service Line Manager, Financial Inclusion - Financial Infrastructure, World Bank
Tilman Ehrbeck, CEO, CGAP
Frédéric Glanois, Head of Official Development Assistance and Multilateral Development Institutions, Treasury Directorate General, Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, France
Christopher Grewe, Senior Economist, Department of the Treasury, USA
Leora Klapper, Lead Economist, Finance & Private Sector Development, World Bank
Aysen Kulakoglu, Head of Department , Undersecretariat of Treasury, Turkey
Alexia Latortue, Deputy CEO, CGAP
Timothy Lyman, Senior Policy Advisor, CGAP
Douglas Pearce, Manager, Financial Inclusion Practice, World Bank
Bikki Randhawa, Manager, Access to Finance, International Finance Corporation
Peer Stein, Director, Access to Finance, International Finance Corporation
