CREDIT BANK OF MOSCOW has become first Russian bank to get ESG rating

28.10.2019

Rating-Agentur Expert RA GmbH has assigned a BBB ESG rating to Credit Bank of Moscow (CBM). This is the first ESG rating assigned to a Russian bank.

The ESG rating assesses the environmental, social and governance aspects of corporate social responsibility. CBM's ratings for each of them are as follows: BB [e] environmental rating, BB [s] social rating and A [g] governance rating. The consolidated rating grade means that CBM's management of ESG-related risks and opportunities is of a moderately high level. The rating reflects the Bank's achievements and development areas as regards sustainability and corporate social responsibility(CSR).

Based on the experience and best practices of EBRD, the Bank's minority shareholder, CBM has drafted and implemented, at the level of development strategy, a number of internal regulations aligned with best global ESG practices and directing its business processes and decision-making processes. CBM has a Social and Environmental Management Policy which, in particular, excludes/restricts financing of certain sectors that do not meet ESG requirements and, according to the rating agency's experts, confirms the growing importance of CSR in making business decisions.

In 2019, for the first time in its practice, CBM decided to report on its performance in terms of corporate social responsibility and prepared for publication its Sustainability Report for 2018, and made a strategic commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The Bank's priority areas are: creating financial products with social value for the state and society, supporting environmental projects and, in a more distant future, issuing "green bonds".

"Socially responsible business has been a global trend of the last decades, with the world's leading companies incorporating the CSR principles into their practice. As one of the largest privately-owned and systemically important banks in Russia, we understand that our work has a direct impact on the society in various ways: economic, social and environmental. Therefore, the Bank's activities are aligned with sustainability goals, – noted Vladimir Chubar, Chairman of the Management Board. – We want to make our sustainability disclosure more transparent. That's why we attribute additional value to the ESG rating which attests to a high expert appraisal of our efforts in integrating ESG principles into the Bank's business strategy".