Financial institutions increasingly recognise that climate change and other environmental, social and corporate governance risks jeopardise the world’s economy and financial system.
The Covid-19 pandemic underlined the importance of financial system resilience. Banks around the world recognise they have a key role to play in the transition to a sustainable future aligned with the objectives of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
Our third benchmark study of responsible banking practices takes a closer look at evolving best practices and developing trends in managing climate change risk and broader social and governance issues. Building on Mazars’ previous report: “Responsible banking practices, Benchmark study 2020”, our latest study identifies how banks are taking collective responsibility to create the new foundations of a sustainable financial industry and contribute to building healthier economies.
We segmented 37 banks – the largest, by total assets, in their respective geographies – into four categories: outstanding, leaders, supporters, and followers. It is encouraging to see more banks rank as leaders compared to the last benchmark’s findings, achieving a positive score between 80% and 95%, despite the tightening of our assessment criteria to reflect the improvement of the practice and requirements.
However, many challenges remain. There is still room for improvement, especially in regions where industry guidelines and ESG-related regulations are lacking. In effect, strong sustainability practices often come hand-in-hand with consistent industry and legal incentives.
Less than six months after launching the standard-setting project, the IASB seems well on the way to finalising the amendments to IAS 12 that will introduce a temporary exception to the recognition of deferred taxes resulting from the implementation of the OECD Pillar Two rules. The IASB acknowledged the timely and helpful feedback from stakeholders on its proposed amendments and, at the end of...
Individual accountability, climate, consumer protection and digitalisation featured prominently on the regulatory radar during Q1 2023. The Mazars insurance newsletter will update you on all the news and changes in the Insurance industry.
With the first requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) coming into effect from 1 January 2024, some questions have arisen in the short term regarding the content of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) that companies must apply in this context. The European Commission (EC) has recently stated that it plans to reduce the reporting burden on...
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Responsible banking practices: benchmark study 2021
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