BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 15. At the moment, less than 10 banks operating in Azerbaijan are seriously engaged in covering risks related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects, Director General of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan Togrul Aliyev said, Trend reports.
He spoke at the II Baku Forum on Sustainable Development.
He noted that according to World Bank calculations, about 55 percent of the loan portfolio of Azerbaijan's banking sector is concentrated in organizations that may be vulnerable due to climate change.
"In June and July of this year, the Central Bank conducted surveys among financial sector representatives. The poll included 52 financial institutions, representing 95 percent of all financial institutions. Our goal is to investigate the level of sustainability awareness and to learn about the actions they intend to take in the future. So far, less than ten banks in the country have actively considered environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk coverage. This is still in the planning stages at other institutions," Togrul Aliyev said.
Aliyev added that there are also expectations from financial institutions for certain concessions in this area. The Central Bank is also focused on this issue and will take measures in this direction.
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