Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria : “European banks lead the world in sustainable financing”

BBVA represented European banking at the conference, which included participation from Nordic and Baltic businesses, policy-makers, and municipal representatives. Antoni Ballabriga who chairs the European Banking Federation's Sustainable Financing Working Group defended the industry's role, 'European banks are paving the way to a more sustainable global financial system. We lead the world in sustainable financing. It's a great opportunity for banks. We are making a lot of progress, but we have to think big, act more quickly, and encourage participation from everyone.' Antoni Ballabriga stressed.

With regard to BBVA's role in the this initiative, he emphasized that 'the Group's strategy in regard to climate change and sustainable finance is based on three pillars: funding (mobilizing €100 billion to stop climate change and achieve the UN's SDGs); management (to align the bank's business activity to updated climate targets); and commitment, driving the financial sector's contribution and engaging with all stakeholders'.

Increasingly, corporate sustainability is taking a prominent position on international institutions' agendas. The EU strategy for sustainable financing defines a ten-point plan aimed at boosting private investment in green and sustainable projects, changing the incentives and culture across the investment chain.

'We need to re-imagine the role of banking in society'

The Sustainable Finance in Nordic-Baltic conference intends to give visibility to some of the problems encountered by businesses and institutions today, and more importantly, how to tackle them, because sustainability is becoming more and more important in the financial sector. For example, during the past 10 years, the economic damage caused by extreme weather events increased 86 percent. Banks are not alien to this reality, which reveals what has hardly been a secret: climate change and sustainability are deeply-rooted problems that impact all economic sectors, political factions, and social rungs.

The conference, which came to a close on Friday, November 9, aimed to define and promote specific actions for the Nordic and Baltic financial sectors, municipalities, policy makers, and businesses through the implementation of the EU financing sustainable investments strategy. Governmental institutions thus play a fundamental role, and the European Commission is demonstrating its commitment to ensuring investments are in line with corporate responsibility policies.