British banking trade body UK Finance has pledged its support for the United Nations’ (UN) responsible banking principles.
The move comes days before the scheduled launch of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative’s Principles for Responsible Banking.
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These principles seek to align banking with the requirements of the society and environmental goals. It takes into account the threat of climate change and its impact on banking operations.
Overall, it lists six principles on how banking industry can support the development goals and climate targets set out by the UN.
UK Finance CEO Stephen Jones said: “A broad base of stakeholder interests, from regulators, to investors, employees and customers are increasingly challenging the banking and finance to find more innovative and sustainable ways in which to operate.
“There are real implications for firms, be it product innovation, bringing environmental and other sustainability factors into lending decisions and even the frequency of corporate travel.
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By GlobalData“Endorsing the Principles firmly aligns with our vision for corporate performance, including within banking and finance, being determined by reference to broader, longer term and more sustainable drivers of value.”
These UN responsible banking principles will be launched during the annual UN General Assembly next week.
In June this year, UK Finance announced that it will work with local communities to ensure free access to cash for customers. The decision comes at the time when the number of ATMs across the UK is declining sharply.
