MSCI upgrades Baloise’s sustainability rating once again
September 27, 2022 at 01:03 am EDT
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Baloise Holding AG
/ Key word(s): Sustainability
MSCI upgrades Baloise’s sustainability rating once again
27.09.2022 / 07:00 CET/CEST
Basel, 27 September 2022. The internationally respected rating agency MSCI has upgraded the sustainability rating of Baloise for the second time in succession. This means that Baloise’s ESG rating has now improved from A to AA, the second-highest level on the scale.
“The fact that MSCI has upgraded our sustainability rating once again, this time to AA, demonstrates that we have made further progress on environmental, social and corporate governance aspects of sustainability. I am delighted that MSCI describes us as a leader in the corporate governance sphere. Further factors that contributed to the ESG rating upgrade included progress in the field of talent management and our initiatives to mitigate climate change,” says Gert De Winter, CEO of Baloise Group.
Baloise believes that the concept of sustainable development and the insurance and financial services industries share some important characteristics, for example the need to act with a long-term focus and to manage risks and resources responsibly. Increasingly, this is also being recognised outside the Company. In April 2017, MSCI assigned Baloise an ESG rating of BB. About two years later, it upgraded the rating from BB to BBB. In November 2021, MSCI raised the ESG rating of Baloise again, from BBB to A.
Baloise is a leader in the corporate governance sphere
The latest rating increase from A to AA was awarded by MSCI in recognition of Baloise’s leading performance in the field of corporate governance compared with an international peer group. MSCI highlighted positive developments in the organisation of the Board of Directors. Moreover, Baloise has improved its talent management and introduced initiatives aimed at mitigating climate risks.
MSCI awards ESG ratings on a scale from CCC at the lower end through B, BB, BBB to A, AA and a top rating of AAA. An ESG rating of AA means that Baloise now ranks among the leading companies in the multi-line insurance & brokerage sector. MSCI ESG Research is the biggest global provider of sustainability analyses and ESG ratings.
The progress that Baloise has been making with the implementation of its sustainability strategy is also attracting growing attention and recognition from other rating agencies. For example, Baloise was recently (as of 19 September 2022) included in the SXI Switzerland Sustainability 25 index of the Swiss stock exchange. This index measures the performance of the 25 Swiss companies that have the highest sustainability rating according to the criteria used in Inrate’s ESG impact rating (see media information).
The Baloise Group is more than just a traditional insurance company. The changing security, safety and service needs of society in the digital age lie at the heart of its business activities. The 7,900 or so employees of Baloise therefore focus on the wishes of their customers. The best possible customer service, combined with innovative products and services, makes Baloise the first choice for people who want to feel ‘simply safe’. Located at the heart of Europe, with its head office in Basel, the Baloise Group is a provider of prevention, pension, assistance and insurance solutions. Its core markets are Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. In Switzerland, the Group also operates as a specialised financial services provider, offering a combination of insurance and banking services. The Group offers innovative pension products to retail customers throughout Europe from its competence centre in Luxembourg. Bâloise Holding Ltd shares are listed in the main segment of the SIX Swiss Exchange.
Baloise Holding AG is a Switzerland-based company that offers insurance and retirement solutions to private individuals and companies. The Company combines insurance and banking services and is active in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. The Company diversifies its activities into Non-life, Life, Asset Management & Banking and Other Activities business segments. The Nonlife segment includes accident and health insurances, as well as products of the liability, motor, property and marine sectors. The Life segment includes capital-forming insurance and risk covers, among others. The Asset Management & Banking operating segment encompasses banking-related areas of asset management as well as the actual banking area. The Other Activities segment comprises equity investment companies, real-estate firms and financing companies.
BÂLOISE HOLDING AG 
