Sustainability factors have always arguably been part of sound risk management. However, with the increase in impacts and the importance of sustainability, particularly climate change, financial regulators are now stepping in to recommend or require that banks identify, manage and mitigate related risk exposures.
This growth of incorporation of ESG in credit risk dates back to 2016 with the support of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI), as it launched initiatives to enhance the transparent and systematic integration of ESG factors in these assessments. Since then, it’s been recognised that poor management of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors can lead to financial, reputational and regulatory risks that may result in negative financial consequences for companies and a bank’s loan book; intricacies that are highlighted in this ESG operational risk training. As evidence consolidates around the fact that ESG factors can affect financial performance and credit concentration risk in banks, ESG considerations are gaining prominence across banks, risk management professionals, and regulators such as the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Central Bank (ECB).
This ESG operational risk training helps participants understand the overlap between ESG, particularly climate change, financial disclosure, and credit risk. It clarifies how ESG can be integrated into a bank's traditional risk frameworks, how ESG factors can drive credit risk, and how leading banks are adapting to better identify, monitor and mitigate these.