Responsible investment leadership

ESG Policy 

We do not directly lend to corporations that operate in specific sectors such as tobacco, gambling, pornography, and fossil fuels. Our Treasury Credit Risk and Lending Policy is the policy framework for managing our credit exposure arising from financial markets exposures. This states that ‘As part of the policy, various lending and investment opportunities are disqualified from the bank’s lending origination business for ESG (Environment Social and Governance) exclusion criteria’. 

Under the exclusion criteria, we do not directly lend to, or directly buy equity or debt to corporations that operate in specific industries including the following: 

• Organisations that grow, produce, retail, and sell tobacco related products or services including packaging and the manufacture of nicotine alternatives. 
• Organisations that operate or own gambling products or services 
• Organisations that produce, own, operate, or distribute pornography. 
• Organisations that explore, extract, export coal, oil and gas, and/or combust these for power generation, and/or are major suppliers to these industries.

We do not directly invest in the fossil fuel industry 

Our Treasury Credit Risk and Lending Risk Policy explicitly prohibits our bank from directly lending to, investing in, or buying equity or debt in corporations that operate the fossil fuel industry, which is defined as ‘coal, oil and gas - exploration for and extraction of reserves, exports, combustion for power generation, and major suppliers to the oil, coal and gas industries’. 

Read the Banking for Good report

1. 2021-2024