Center-invest Bank took part in the 21st International Banking Forum in Sochi, spoke at a round table dedicated to the problems of financing and developing SMEs, and held a round table entitled "ESG Banking: In Search of a Digital Key".

Vasily Vysokov, Chairman of Center-invest Bank’s Board of Directors, Professor and Doctor of Economics, heads the SME Committee of the Association of Russian Banks. At the forum, Professor Vysokov presented the concept of creative business development, accelerated implementation of innovations and ensuring technological independence.

These ideas are set out in the book Creative Don, published in 2024, dedicated to the analysis of the sustainable development trajectories of creative industries and increasing the global competitiveness of the creative self-awareness of business in Russia.

Mr. Aleksandr Dolganov, Ph. D. in Economics, Deputy Chairman of Center-invest Bank’s Management Board, moderated the round table ESG banking: In Search of a Digital Key, and the Chairperson of the Bank’s Management Board Lidiya Simonova presented the bank’s experience in developing ESG banking. The panel included 7 speakers, including a representative of the National Confederation of Financial Institutions of Brazil.

Lidiya Simonova shared unique expertise and a methodology developed by the Bank’s specialists that allows for the assessment of the carbon footprint when issuing mortgage loans and loans to the agricultural sector, thereby assessing the environmental impact of the Bank’s operations and taking steps to implement lean and environmentally friendly practices among clients.

"The work of Center-invest Bank is built on the principle of using competitive advantages through the integration of ESG principles and operational activities in conjunction with the bank’s financial performance. This work is reflected in our ESG report, which can be called, without exaggeration, an encyclopedia of ESG banking. The bank is doing a lot of work to implement and digitalise ESG principles in technological processes and lending procedures for its clients and remains a leader in promoting these principles for SMEs and at the level of Russian regions," Lidiya Simonova clarified.

The bank’s responsible attitude towards society is also reflected in the highest ESG rating ESG-AA, level ESG-2, which was assigned to the bank by the ACRA analytical credit rating agency in April 2024.