Sustainable finance: Shifting gears by major financial centres

The Liechtenstein Banking Association has joined the network a year ago and is a very active player since. On the occasion of today’s 2nd High-Level Conference on Sustainable Finance of the European Commission, the FC4S has just published a report which has for the first time measured the contribution of financial centres to sustainable development and the ongoing low-carbon transition. Some of the key findings are quite interesting:

• Nearly two-thirds of financial centre initiatives on green and sustainable finance are partnerships between the private and public sectors.
• The top three barriers faced by financial centres are a lack of green financial products, inconsistent standards and insufficient market demand. There is a need for a shared taxonomy.
• Climate change continues to be a major focus for activities branded as 'sustainable' but FC4S members recognize the need to broaden their offering to include other environmental priorities. As a good example the report acknowledge the initiative of Liechtenstein – strongly supported by the LBA - on modern slavery and human trafficking.
• Investment and asset management is the most mature sector with respect to green and sustainable finance in most centres, while green banking is evolving, and insurance has the furthest to go. The LBA is strongly committed to the FC4S and will continue its work and engagement to further push towards more sustainable finance. Going forward, a major goal for 2019 is to conduct a comprehensive sustainability assessment among all member banks and across all business areas.
• Applying financial technology (fintech) solutions to sustainable finance challenges is a major focus for financial centres.