Abi-FFS, banks' commitment to support the transition increases

The commitment of banks to supporting the sustainable transition of families and businesses is growing, with the offer of green loans and mortgages available from 90% of credit institutions, as well as other financial solutions. This is the picture that emerges from the research "Giving credit to sustainability: the inclusion of ESG criteria in the operations of banks", carried out by the Forum for Sustainable Finance (FFS) and the Italian Banking Association.

"Sustainable finance is a fundamental enabler of change. From this perspective, ESG credit to families and businesses represents a very important lever for promoting and speeding up the ecological transition" declares the general director of the Forum for Sustainable Finance, Francesco Bicciato.

"The results of the research confirm the commitment that banks place in accompanying families and businesses along the transition path, through financing, skills and dedicated services. For a broader mobilization of investments in favor of the transition, it is now necessary to guarantee the stability of the rules, full accessibility to existing data and effective integration between public instruments and financing", comments the Deputy Director General of the ABI, Gianfranco Torriero.

For businesses, green loans, i.e. loans intended for projects with clear and measurable environmental benefits, are offered by at least 90% of responding intermediaries; financing for highly energy efficient properties or for energy redevelopment interventions and sustainability-linked loans, financing linked to the achievement of sustainability objectives, are both present in the offer of over 60% of the sample.

For families, in particular, green mortgages are offered by over 90% of respondents, together with forms of consumer credit for sustainable purchases (74%) and loans for students to support training courses (63%).

The research also highlights the importance for banks of having accessible, reliable and comparable ESG data on customers.