Climate Risk Management Roundtable for Challenger Banks and Building Societies in the UK

The roundtable proved to be an interactive session with participation from a select group of UK Challenger Banks and Building Societies, who are developing their thoughts and strategies in the ESG space.

Ian Haywood, Head of Banks Coverage for UK and Irish Banks hosted and introduced the session, outlined the importance of these events for the Bank, and how they fit into the banks' sustainability strategy of supporting our "client's transition to sustainability".

Marieke Abcouwer from the Central Risk Management team kicked off the session to introduce how ABN AMRO is developing a robust climate risk management framework across the organisation. Participants were interested in hearing about how we set about embedding climate risk management within the various business lines, so it becomes part of the culture instead of being a tool used in the risk management department. Marieke then showcased the work that has been carried out in the retail mortgage book, which being ABN AMRO's most extensive asset portfolio is a key risk point for the Bank and the majority of UK banks. Mortgages also form their largest portfolios.

Tjeerd Krumpelman, Head of Advisory, Reporting and Engagement within ABN AMRO's Group Sustainability team finished the session with a presentation on ABN AMRO's reporting to stakeholders and the wider world on its achievements in climate (risk) management (carbon accounting & impact reporting). Tjeerd, now a veteran of the UK ESG roundtable events, having previously contributed to sessions on Impact reporting and ESG rating agencies, also focused on the various global reporting initiatives ABN AMRO are members of and how they interact with each other. These included PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials) who also launched a UK coalition last September which consists of some of the participants on today's call to promote further measurement and disclosure of carbon emissions in the finance sector.

Finally, in the Q&A session discussions centred around how embedding a climate change risk management framework within an organisation can help drive change and develop new products for consumers and clients.

The feedback we have received from clients attending these events has been overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to hosting our next event in Q2 of this year. With the increased focus from all Financial Institution stakeholders (regulators, rating agencies, investors and clients) we expect ABN AMRO's experience and expertise within Sustainable Banking will increasing become even more relevant to the UK banking client base.