The «Russia’s Best ESG Projects» Forum took place in Moscow on 1 June. Center-invest Bank became a winner in the «ESG Business Transformation» category and presented a rating-based model of the ESG risks assessment for loans granted to SME.

The «Russia’s Best ESG Projects» Forum is an annual event showcasing the best practices in the environmental, social and corporate governance area. Deputy Chairman of Center-invest Bank’s Management Board Alexander Dolganov attended the event and made a presentation on the bank’s experience in use of non-financial assessment of loans based on the ESG rating model for loans granted to SME introduced in 2022.

The ESG rating is a rapid assessment of how efficiently a company manages environmental, social and governance risks. This rating is used by the Bank alongside the traditional financial analysis of the client’s business when forming a solvency opinion.

Center-invest Bank is one of the largest regional banks in Southern Russia implementing the ESG banking business model. In addition to the ESG rating system, the Bank is implementing an energy efficiency programme, introducing green products and estimating the carbon footprint — the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from the projected consumption of all energy resources by an apartment building.

The Bank makes continuous efforts to improve financial literacy of the population, ensure success of start-ups and new growth of existing businesses. To date, the bank has invested 418.8 billion rubles in the Sustainable Development Goals and 389.8 billion rubles in the National Projects.