Companies news

Mazars' report reveals how financial institutions are tackling climate change

Mazars and OMFIF surveyed 33 Central banks about the inclusion of climate risks in their activities.

The Mazars-OMFIF “Tackling climate change: The role of banking regulation and supervision” report is based on research and survey responses from 33 central banks and regulatory authorities and finds that 70% of respondents consider climate change a ‘major threat’ to financial stability.

‘Four years after the Paris agreement the climate change debate continues to proliferate. Climate change will impact all financial institutions and the topic is high on the agenda of supervisors and regulators around the globe,’

says Rudi Lang, partner, Leader Financial Institutions Group at Mazars, and sponsor of the Mazars-OMFIF report, “Tackling climate change: The role of banking regulation and supervision.” 

Recognition – but what reaction? 

Just over half of central banks (55%) say they are monitoring climate risks. But there is disagreement over responsibilities, with 12% overall saying that, while they see climate change as a major risk, action should come from other policy institutions, such as government departments. 

Regulatory approaches to climate risks 

Central banks and regulatory authorities are increasingly integrating climate risks into their activities. Moving ahead, top measures expected are: 

1. Assessing climate risk as a financial risk in stress tests
2. Encouraging or mandating climate-related financial disclosures 
3. Setting sustainability criteria standards for green finance/lending by regulated banks 

While ‘market-fixing’ initiatives – which involve correcting market failures in financial markets – are gaining traction, central banks report being wary of using more interventionist ‘market-shaping’ prudential and monetary tools for climate purposes.  

Obstacles

Almost all respondents highlight the lack of appropriate analytical tools, methodologies and data as major problems. Data availability and quality are the key concern for 84% of respondents.  

Fragmentation of climate-risk frameworks is also deemed a key challenge, with 31% of respondents concerned about the comparability and consistency of supervisory frameworks. 

More climate stress-testing expected 

The inclusion of climate-related considerations in stress tests is still at an early stage with only a minority (15%) of respondents currently including them in their routine stress tests of financial institutions. But this is set to soar, as nearly four-fifths (79%) say they intend to do so in the future. 

Facing the future 

‘The success of any policy response will rely on the engagement of market participants who will be expected to assess, disclose and mitigate their climate change risk and continue to change some of their practices,’

highlights Leila Kamdem-Fotso, partner, financial services, Mazars, and contributor to the report.

Source: Mazars