UNEP FI publishes third progress report on responsible banking principles
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) has published its third biennial progress report on the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB), covering over 350 banks across 87 countries representing approximately 50% of global banking assets. The report identifies growing regulatory momentum for sustainability practices pioneered by UNEP FI, with regulators in eight out of 12 Asia-Pacific jurisdictions embedding sustainability more systematically into their mandates. The report shows that over 65% of PRB banks have adopted the impact analysis tool developed jointly by the UN and PRB signatories, which is now being used to apply the EU's double-materiality approach. Analysis by MSCI shows that 61% of PRB signatories lead their industry in managing financially material sustainability risks compared to 23% of non-PRB banks, with PRB signatories paying one percentage point less on average for equity and debt capital.