Banking on impact

A new content series which gives a sneak peek into the everyday life of a banker.

Shedding light on the difficulties faced by the financial sector in regard to sustainability, these comics will place fictional characters in all too real day-to-day office situations. Also included will be short stories, providing additional context to readers.  

For our first edition, Nicolas
- The Global Head of Credit Portfolio Management - is faced with a sharp drop in a client’s share price following public allegations of misleading ESG reporting and disclosures.

Read the comic strip and full story below!

Story Line

Nicolas heads the bank’s wholesale global portfolio management (PM) department. PM manages around 2,000 corporate and investment banking (CIB) clients, aggregated lending commitments of over USD300bn with a 3.5-year average life, and some 28,500 underlying bilateral and syndicated facilities denominated in more than 10 currencies.

On November 21st, 2022, the share price of Cifran (a core client of the bank) fell by 22.5% following public allegations from a leading activist investor regarding misleading ESG reporting and disclosures.

Cifran’s situation was discussed at the CIB ExCo that same morning and it was decided that a global ESG portfolio review should be initiated. At 12:36 pm, while Nicolas was heading for lunch with a former schoolmate, he received the email below from Caroline, the bank’s CIB Global Head.

“I trust you are well. We decided earlier this morning at the CIB ExCo to undertake a global ESG portfolio review, the aim of which, amongst others, is to better assess CIB’s underlying ESG risks and potential misrepresentations.

Please liaise with Pedro (Sustainability Head) and Susan (Chief Risk Officer) to propose the best way forward. I have asked my PA to set up a meeting on Wednesday 23rd where I expect you to present your recommendations to the ExCo members. I acknowledge the very tight deadline provided; however, this information is needed for the bank’s investor day next week, during which Paul (CEO) and his management team will further elaborate on the matter.”

Nicolas grabs his phone and sends a quick note to his friend: “…sorry mate, super urgent stuff here, have to postpone our lunch. Best” After taking a breath and reading Caroline’s email once again, Nicolas searches for a draft Excel spreadsheet he had worked on 16 months ago on a related matter. He feels overwhelmed, not knowing how to tackle senior management’s ask.

Had Nicolas and the bank considered impak’s solutions, PM would have been able to provide a detailed, up-to-date, tailor-made impact dataset on all CIB’s clients.

impak provides in-depth impact data assessments and facilitates your transition journey.

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