SABB aims to grow its ESG compliance lending to 20% in short term, CEO says

SABB aims to grow its ESG compliance lending to 20% in short term, CEO says

RIYADH: The Saudi British Bank aims to grow its environmental, social and governance framework compliance balance lending sheet between 15 to 20 percent in the “very short term” or over the next five to seven years, according to its CEO. Speaking at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum – taking place alongside the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt – Tony Cripps explained that the Riyadh-based bank has around 5 percent of its balance sheet currently dedicated to ESG compliant lending. “So, when it becomes one quarter of your entire business you better pay attention to it,” he said. Cripps noted that one of the first discussions he had with the Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, was about establishing a framework where the finance industry works with regulators and the government. This is needed to “look at how we can work together to develop the right regulatory framework, how we can develop the right products, how we can define the taxonomy that everyone needs, to be able to say what's green and what isn’t,” he explained. The discussion also involved the education required for the industry and for clients to understand why such a transition is imperative.