Around the globe, investor, stakeholder and customer demands are pushing businesses to pay more attention to ESG factors when it comes to their commercial decisions and overall business strategy. Regulatory initiatives are similarly being adopted worldwide, requiring firms to account for their greenhouse gas emissions and more. One thing is certain: the financial sector needs to play a leading role in helping businesses and economies shape a practical roadmap to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
To help provoke debate, discussion and progress on #FinanceForGood practices, Forvis Mazars is committed to sharing expertise on the adoption of sustainable practices, and partners with industry leaders and think tanks to conduct in-depth research on the state of play of the financial sector. Discover our full, and continually updated, selection of #FinanceForGood insight and perspectives below.
Financial institutions have a leading role to play in shaping our sustainable future, and a strong need to reboot and shift to a more responsible finance model. As a core component of the economy, they bear the responsibility of upholding rigour and resilience in their risk management. With time running out to achieve a move towards nature-positive outcomes, what sustainability progress have banks...
Mazars and the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) are proud to have come together to produce a global report providing unique insight on current and upcoming financial regulatory evolutions aimed at tackling climate change. What policy adjustments are being undertaken in different jurisdictions around the world to assess and control climate risks? How are these actions likely...
The real estate sector faces increasing demands to significantly change its modus operandi and decarbonise. It has become a priority to drive the sector towards a more positive transformation, which strives to better respond to the ESG criteria. How effective has this transition been so far?
15/02/2024 In environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, materiality is crucial for enhancing transparency and accountability in sustainability and climate-related disclosures. Importantly, it helps identify and report on matters that are deemed significant, emphasizing their relevance to stakeholders.
08/02/2024 To adapt to the swiftly evolving regulatory landscape and meet stakeholders’ expectations, financial firms are increasingly formulating sustainability strategies to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Notably, emissions reduction and the pursuit of net-zero targets have become central elements of ESG strategies for many financial firms, according to the latest Mazars’...
01/02/2024 The integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into strategic planning is increasingly becoming a common practice among financial services firms. However, climate-related risks can also serve as drivers of financial risk for institutions. These risks can manifest through various transmission channels, translating climate and environmental (C&E) risks into more...
25/01/2024 There is growing pressure for banks and insurers to incorporate C&E factors in their risk management frameworks (RMF). As a practice, it gives the ability to set clear thresholds for the climate impacts banks and insurers are willing and able to absorb. By establishing these thresholds, firms can effectively monitor their exposure to C&E risks, led by defined guidelines and exposure limits....
18/01/2024 There are increasing regulatory expectations globally for financial institutions to disclose and demonstrate how sustainability-related responsibilities are allocated within the organisation. In this respect, the increasing global trend towards mandatory sustainability disclosure frameworks continues to underscore the significant role that the finance function is anticipated to assume in...
16/12/2023 What sustainability progress have banks and insurers made in the last two years, given the role of financial institutions as a core component of the economy, and bearing in mind their responsibility to uphold the rigour and resilience of their risk management? Equally significant is their social responsibility to offer vital financial support to develop sustainable global economies. In...
15/12/2023 Mazars in Canada’s inaugural benchmark study on climate-related financial disclosures show cases practices that Canadian financial institutions have put in place to manage climate- related risks and opportunities. Our study seeks to assess the level of maturity of FRFIs to provide comprehensive climate-related disclosures in line with regulatory expectations and industry best practices....
11/12/2023 The increased demand for sustainable finance shows that awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues is generally high among financial institutions. Indeed, for many of the larger players subject to the EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), there has been a requirement to include ESG information in annual reports for some time. Others have incorporated ESG information...
13/11/2023 The implementation of the European Union’s ‘Taxonomy’ regulation, which integrates two climate objectives, was carried out on 1 January 2022 through the ‘Climate’ Delegated Act released in April 2021. In line with this, the banking sector has been provided with corresponding regulations, allowing banks to measure the portion of their financing dedicated to sustainable economic activities...
06/11/2023 In 2022, the European Union implemented the green taxonomy for the second year, requiring companies to disclose indicators related to climate objectives. The green taxonomy aims to guide capital investment towards environmentally sustainable activities, making companies assess their alignment with the EU’s sustainable transition and enabling financial institutions to prioritise funding...
02/11/2023 This year marks the second year in which insurance and reinsurance companies have published their eligibility ratios for the European Green Taxonomy. For the insurance sector, the objective is to measure the proportion of investments, as well as the proportion of gross premiums collected in non-life insurance, dedicated to financing economic activities in accordance with the Taxonomy Regulation.
25/07/2023 Asset managers have a pivotal role in financing the transition towards low-carbon economic systems. Hence, governments have introduced several ESG-related regulatory requirements that apply to asset managers. Some examples of these are the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in the EU and the mandatory disclosures in line with the Taskforce on Climate Financial Disclosures’...
20/03/2023 The momentum towards a low-carbon economic system is only set to grow. Financial services firms are pivotal actors in the transition; consequently, increasing demands are being put on them to demonstrate their sustainable finance activities and credentials. This blog explains what sustainable finance is and why it matters to financial services firms.
15/03/2023 Implementing credible environmental, social and governance (ESG) actions requires successful enablers. So how can firms identify these enablers and, crucially, remove barriers to implementation? If we take our latest C-Suite Sustainability Barometer, we can see that out of the over 1,100 businesses accounted for in the survey, 75% are planning to increase their investment in sustainability...
08/02/2023 The global climate crisis has triggered the financial sphere to address the way in which it conducts business. Climate risk consideration is currently growing in the banking industry but should also be considered by banks in the Credit Valuation Adjustment (CVA) when pricing derivatives.
20/01/2023 The Federal Reserve Board (Fed) has shared instructions on its pilot climate scenario analysis exercise (CSA). Six of the largest U.S. banks, i.e., Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo are participating in the exercise and are requested to submit their results along with documentation by July 31, 2023. The analysed results and lessons...
12/01/2023 In our last article on sustainability-linked financing, we highlighted the accounting issues related to these contracts that are currently being debated between stakeholders. The most critical issue is the classification of loans or bonds that reference the borrower or issuer’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) key performance indicators (KPIs) on the balance sheet of lenders –...
22/12/22 A lot of attention at COP27 was focused on the likelihood of keeping global warming to 1.5 °C, in line with the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. The consensus was that we are in real danger of falling off track. Few nations revised their nationally determined contributions to reduce their carbon footprint compared to COP26, and the final COP27 text failed to make further progress...
21/12/2022 On 8 December 2022, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) published its proposed principles to provide a high-level framework for managing climate-related financial risks. This proposal is for large banking organizations with consolidated total assets greater than USD$100 billion. However, it was recognized many other financial institutions (FIs) would benefit from this guidance as they work...
19/12/2022 The European Central Bank (ECB) has expressed a significant supervisory concern surrounding more than half of supervised banks in terms of the progress made on fulfilling the expectations specified in the Guide on climate-related and environmental risks. The ECB recently concluded its 2022 thematic review of the banking sector’s alignment with supervisory expectations. This review relates...
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