Credit sector gets more eco-conscious
Reducing their environmental footprint, “green” investments, transparency and accountability can secure enterprises a lower cost of borrowing and more attractive funding packages.
Monitoring authorities are offering incentives to banks, such as lower capital adequacy requirements, when they finance environmentally friendly investments and accept corporate bonds with a green certificate.
These changes stem from the principles of responsible banking that 180 banks across the world have subscribed to, including Greece’s four systemic lenders.
“Banks must lead efforts for a sustainable future by directing capital to actions that bring positive results for society and guiding clients to the proper management of social and environmental challenges,” Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras tells Kathimerini. He adds the BoG was among the first central banks to address sustainability by setting up the Commission for the Study of Climate Change Effects in 2009. “The main principle in central banks’ philosophy is that you cannot have financial stability without a sustainable growth model,” he says.