"ESG banking: made in Russia" is the first published in Russia scientific and practical manual on the bank’s work based on the ESG principles. The author is Vasily Vysokov, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Center-Invest Bank.
ESG banking is not an addition or alternative to existing banking practices, but a global trend that is gaining popularity among politicians, regulators, investors, customers, management and bank employees.
ESG banking takes into account a wider range of environmental, social and management risks and requires additional costs. Therefore, all interested parties want to know how and by what means these costs are paid off in practice.
The new publication answers these questions based on the experience of PJSC Commercial bank Center-invest, which is successfully implementing ESG banking principles in Southern Russia and this year was recognized as the Best Bank in Central and Eastern Europe for corporate responsibility.
Not a speculative buying and selling, but real risk management requires considering a wider range of alternatives:
- development of own business and customers’ lives
- tools used for risk management,
- prompt response to new challenges,
- creative solutions for adaptation to a new environment
Effective risk management allows the bank, even in crises, to obtain high financial results thanks to the steps agreed with customers to implement their projects in the most difficult conditions.
There are no contradictions between traditional assessment methods and ESG ratings: an ESG bank must be successful in any frame of reference due to the optimal balance of profitability, organic growth and assumed risks.
Center-invest Bank is successfully operating in the sectors which are known as "most risky": agribusiness, small business, energy efficiency. The book provides examples of the bank’s participation in the modernization of agriculture in Southern Russia, in the development of women, youth, social entrepreneurship, business transformation, lending to energy efficient projects, repairs of apartment buildings, and the happiness of residents of the region.
ESG banking requires not only lending risk management, but also operational and managerial risks, including working in the financial markets, in the information space, personnel policy, and digitalization. Center-invest bank’s localization of the best world practice is a clear example of the global competitiveness of ESG banking and a confirmation of the efforts of regulators in Russia and other countries to promote a new business model of the banking business.