Credit Europe Bank N.V.
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2023)
Reporting Period: 2023
Environmental Metrics
ESG Focus Areas
- Healthy and Stable Bank
- Responsible Tax Strategy
- Compliance and Anti-fraud
- Effective Financial Risk Management
- Embracing Technology and Innovation
- Value-adding and responsible products
- Human Capital Management
- Agile, Adaptive and Resilient Organization
- Data Governance
- Corporate Culture
- Transparency
- Information and Operational Risks
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- Employee Experience
- Responsible Remuneration
- ESG Strategy
- Sustainable Finance
- Stakeholder Engagements & Public Relations
- Managing Environmental Risks and Impact on Nature
- Financial Inclusion
Environmental Achievements
- Exit from thermal coal financing by the end of 2024
- Activities related to extraction/infrastructure of Coal and Oil & Gas are prohibited
- Adoption of ESG-based risk acceptance criteria for Marine Finance and Commercial Real Estate lending, aligning with IMO and EPC standards respectively.
- Reduced foreclosed assets by approximately 50%.
Social Achievements
- Launched Corporate online and mobile banking, and retail mobile banking app 'Monet' in Romania.
- Introduced virtual cards in Romania.
- Implemented a digital platform for Supply Chain Finance transactions.
- Offered Unconscious Bias Trainings to all employees and established ‘CEB United’, a Diversity & Inclusion Working Group.
- Donation to fund the establishment of a child rehabilitation center in Turkey.
Governance Achievements
- Improved data centralization and reporting capabilities, enhancing risk monitoring efficiency.
- Revised Risk Appetite Policy and enriched limit monitoring framework with LGD-based concentration limits.
- Revised IFRS9 ECL calculation framework for Corporate Customers.
- Changes were made to the organizational structure of the Bank’s Compliance Division to ensure effective group-wide compliance oversight.
- Completed actions addressing comments from regulatory authorities resulting from AML/CTF examinations conducted in 2022.
Climate Goals & Targets
Medium-term Goals:
- Enhancing the value proposition of international trade finance
- Strengthening Project Finance and Supply Chain Finance
- Increasing the franchise value of the retail banking business in Romania
- Further improving synergy and cooperation among business lines
- Embedding digitalization into the entire organization
- Continuously investing in people and company culture
- Further optimizing our corporate and capital structure
- Extending the Bank’s ESG management framework by incorporating further environmental and social aspects and developing a roadmap for carbon emission reduction.
Short-term Goals:
- Further decrease the NPL ratio
- Cut more than 70% of the remaining foreclosed assets over the next three years
Environmental Challenges
- High interest environment
- Slowdown in commodity markets
- Geopolitical tensions (including the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East)
- High employee turnover rates
- Tight labor market
- Increasing inflation levels
Mitigation Strategies
- Continuous efforts in diversification of trade finance portfolio.
- Shift of risk appetite towards Western European markets for Corporate Lending.
- Investment in digitalization to improve customer services and increase product spectrum.
- Compensation adjustments to minimize the impact of inflation on employees.
- Initiatives to decrease turnover rates (detailed in the report)
- Cultural program to improve cooperation and collaboration among colleagues.
Supply Chain Management
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Physical Risks
- Flooding
Transition Risks
- Wider introduction of and increase in carbon price
- Increase in capital requirement
- Stricter regulatory requirements to combat climate change
- Failure to comply with risk assessment and disclosure requirements
- Reputational and litigation risks
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: EU Taxonomy
Third-party Assurance: KPMG Accountants N.V.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 8
Promoting inclusive and sustainable growth.