ESG
ESG reserves adoption challenged by reliance on sovereign bonds
Higher issuance of government-compliant bonds is insufficient to offer investable alternatives to central banks.
Podcast: Diversifying portfolios post-Covid
BNP’s Johanna Lasker talks about why central banks should consider equities and Tips
BIS and HKMA start work on green bond infrastructure project
Digital platform based on blockchain aims to improve green bond market’s transparency
Thai regulators aim to create ‘green’ taxonomy
Central bank and other regulators pledge to encourage sustainable investment
DNB unveils sustainability policy
Dutch central bank sets out four-year green plan – investments must be “Paris-aligned”
FCA to expand UK footprint as part of new strategy
Regulator’s priorities will include climate risk disclosures and financial sector diversity
Finland’s Ilves on ESG and the impact of Covid-19 on reserves
Nick Carver speaks to the Bank of Finland’s head of asset management, Jarno Ilves, as part of HSBC’s Reserve Management Trends 2021
Green bonds remain a challenge for reserve managers
Duration and issuance model curb investing in green market, Finland’s asset management head says
Central banks play growing role as local gold buyers
Purchase programmes can save resources, while helping to foster security and fairness in mining industry, report says
People: UK’s FCA appoints head of ESG
Burundian senior officials switch roles and senior Vietnamese supervisor is promoted
ESG investment must grow to achieve zero carbon emissions
Action is needed to scale up green investment and tackle information issues, writes Sayuri Shirai
MAS selects asset managers with green focus
Singapore government will start issuing green bonds, governor Menon says
Bank of Finland to focus on sustainable growth
Central bank also aims to create “world’s best” financial literacy programme
BdF paper looks at French law on climate disclosures
Law led to sharp cut in French firms’ holdings of fossil fuel-related instruments, research finds
A ‘love-hate’ relationship with ESG screens
ESG screens seen as a first step in adopting sustainable investment practices, so why do so few central banks use them?
Bank of Spain paper applies text mining to climate disclosures
Some climate disclosures found only in remuneration or Pillar 3 reports, researchers say
Georgia’s Gvenetadze on implementing an aggressive reform agenda
The National Bank of Georgia governor speaks about efforts to improve monetary policy, financial infrastructure, financial literacy, transparency and ESG
Swiss National Bank opposes ban on ‘war material’ assets
Central bank says referendum motion is ill-defined and would hurt reserves management
Beyond climate: addressing the ‘E’ in ESG
Environmental degradation raises fundamental questions about how central banks think about risk; efforts to expand focus beyond climate risks now under way
Reserve Benchmarks 2020 report – charting new data frontiers
Perspectives on staffing and salaries, reserve coverage, portfolio construction, benchmarking, use of external parties and risk management
Moral mandates better suited to ESG adoption than financial goals – panel
Lack of liquid green bond markets limits a wider adoption of ESG investment strategies
Boards are the main authority for benchmark approvals
Risk management teams tend to lead effort to propose new benchmarks
Few central banks consider climate risk within benchmarks
Despite central banks supporting mandatory climate risk disclosures, very few account for it in their benchmarks
Many Paris Agreement signatories do not use ESG screens
Most reserve managers fail to take environmental factors into account for FX portfolios