Announced on Tuesday at COP27, the Transition Plan Taskforce document responds to market demand for more uniformity on corporate plans.

With anti-ESG sentiment on the rise amid a global financial tightening, is it time for investors to listen to the anti-woke agenda or double down on social responsibility?

As the private sector demands more guidelines, COP27 should promote the development of a global framework on innovative finance.

Vocal members of the US political right are not happy, creating new laws that ban state investors from backing companies with an ESG agenda. Several fund managers have been quick to take up their cause.

European banks have raced far ahead of their US peers on sustainability. But the continent is now facing an energy emergency, creating pressure from some corners to reverse investment declines in oil and gas. Can Europe’s banks remain frontrunners in sustainable finance in today’s fragile geopolitical environment?

Boutique investment bank DAI Magister suggests donor funds could catalyse private equity and debt investment in climate tech, the big theme of COP27.

Demand for carbon offsetting credits on the VCM has intensified as corporates look for solutions to reach net zero. But as more and more institutions look to tap this market, can the existing infrastructure cope?

The launch of an SRI-linked sukuk framework this summer is a blueprint for others to follow.

New deal adds two-year payment deferral to existing natural-disaster clause to mitigate impact of a future pandemic.

Not long ago, correspondent banking was as basic as finance got. These days it is compliance and cost-heavy and in the crosshairs of aggressive and powerful regulators. Little wonder that so many banks are exiting small or fragile markets – actions that help their bottom line but hinder efforts at financial inclusion.

Fossil fuel assets were set to become obsolete in the transition to net zero. But the war in Ukraine is forcing European governments to secure alternative energy sources and driving demand for coal, oil and gas back in the wrong direction. With the global energy transition seemingly pitched against national energy security agendas, banks are trying to navigate a difficult path through the turmoil.

The IPO market has all but closed as rates rise and stock prices fall. But even as they mark existing holdings down, private equity investors will still provide big volumes of new capital to young companies seeking to scale up. The key factor? That those firms are focused on green energy and dealing with the climate crisis. Freed from the noise of public stock markets, these big funds are happy to back their own long-term views of the most promising growth businesses.

Nearly all banks talk about corporate responsibility, few make it integral to the way they work. What sets Bank of America apart is that it has been doing just that for years and this year it receives the award for North America’s best bank for corporate responsibility.

Across every sector and region HSBC stands out for its commitment to developing partnerships and products that will bring finance at scale to create a more sustainable and resilient planet.

With its unique model of direct lending to microfinance institutions and bringing large investors to the table, BNP Paribas has put financial inclusion at the heart of its agenda.

Using its balance sheet to help the transition to net zero emissions, racial equality and economic mobility, while supporting employees through Covid-19 and assisting communities in all markets it operates in, Bank of America has put corporate responsibility at its core.

The breadth and ambition of Santander’s diversity and inclusion programmes set it apart from its peers globally.

When a big US bank joins its peers around the world under an umbrella of responsible banking, it lifts the entire responsibility agenda – and this is exactly what Citi has done as an early signatory to the Principles of Responsible Banking (PRB) of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative.