Banks strengthen the link between financial solutions and sustainable development goals
The commitment of banks to develop banking services and products with an environmental and social value is growing. From the data of the latest BusinESsG 2019 survey, which Abi dedicates to the issues of integration in banking operations of the environmental, social and business management dimensions (ESG acronym from the English Environmental, Social and Governance), it emerges that banks are paying increasing attention to sustainability in their strategy, company policies and in the development of financial solutions for customers.
According to the survey, with respect to specific products and services provided that consider environmental, social and management aspects of economic activities, in addition to those related to the wide world of private homes (such as the guarantee fund for the first home - for banks respondents representing 76,1% of total assets - and solidarity fund for the purchase of the first home - 52,3% of total assets), we note the loans to promote the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings (73,9, 71,8% of the total assets of the sector), for start-ups operating in sectors of social and / or environmental value (71,7% of total assets) and for female entrepreneurs (54,6% of total assets), and asset management products for sustainable and responsible investments (XNUMX% of total assets).
The attention of Abi associates to support sustainability in social and environmental terms is part of an evolving European regulatory framework and a path in which the experiences and peculiarities of the various European countries interact. An attention that for the banks considered by the BusinESsG 2019 survey - conducted on a number of banks operating in Italy that covers approximately 87% of the total assets of the entire sector - appears to be growing.
In fact, the survey shows that already today banks representing 36,6% of the total assets take into account information relating to the environmental and social risks of sectors and geographical areas in order to define their macro-policies for disbursing credit, and that this percentage it will rise to around 80% by 2021, as many banks are gearing up for this.
With reference to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals or, in abbreviated form, SDGs promoted by the United Nations for the 2030 Agenda, a group of banks equal to 80% of total assets already include in their non-financial sustainability reporting which of their initiatives are consistent with the achievement of the individual SDGs.