Swedbank in top when Fair Finance Guide ranks Swedish banks’ guidelines for sustainability 2017
Swedbank ends up in first place in Fair Finance Guide, which annually reviews Swedish banks’ policies and guidelines in the area of sustainability. Swedbank increase its points by six percentages from last year, and now demands the highest requirements on sustainability guidelines among the major banks.
Once a year, Fair Finance Guide reviews the banks’ guidelines concerning requirements on companies they finance or invest in, and how transparent they are in reporting their sustainability work.
“In Swedbank we work hard on integrating sustainability aspects into the business. This because we are convinced that this is how we build long-term financial value, and in the long run how we promote a sound and sustainable economy for the many households and companies. The fact that our sustainability guidelines now ranks best in comparison with other banks shows that we are doing the right thing and it gives energy as we continue to work”, Birgitte Bonnesen, President and CEO at Swedbank says.
Fair Finance Guide ranking is based on the banks’ official guidelines and it takes clear statements or references to existing frameworks to get points. The review shows that Swedbank’s biggest improvements lie in the area of human rights, forestry and anti-corruption.
“Swedbank wants to make it easier for people and companies to make sustainable choices. We constantly and systematically review our guidelines to create tools that provide better insight in different industries’ sustainability challenges. Besides, five of Swedbank Robur's sustainability funds recently managed the stringent requirements for eco-labeling, which makes it easier for savers to find and choose funds that affects companies in a more sustainable way”, Fredrik Nilzén, Head of Group Sustainability at Swedbank says.
The organisations behind Fair Finance Guide are Swedish Consumers Association, Fair Action, Amnesty International, Diakonia and Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. The initiative is funded with support from The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
For more information:
Fredrik Nilzén, Head of Group Sustainability, Swedbank, +46 76 773 19 26
Josefine Uppling, Head of Press Office, Swedbank, +46 76 114 54 21
Swedbank promotes a sound and sustainable financial situation for the many people, households and companies. Our vision is to contribute to development “Beyond Financial Growth”. As a leading bank in the home markets of Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Swedbank offers a wide range of financial services and products. Swedbank has over 7 million retail customers and around 647 000 corporate customers and organisations with 220 branches in Sweden and 134 branches in the Baltic countries. The group is also present in other Nordic countries, the US and China. As of 24 October, 2017 the group had total assets of SEK 2 460 billion.
Read more at www.swedbank.com
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