This is a guest article by Daniel Klier, chief executive of South Pole.

This is a guest article by Gill Lofts, EY global sustainable finance leader.

Capital markets are crucial in helping firms to navigate the turbulent geopolitical climate, acting as both a catalyst for growth and a long-term stabiliser to effectively handle challenges such as currency risk, interest-rate fluctuations and the increasing cost of capital. In the first of our Euromoney Market Voices series, the CEO of Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets explains how markets are adapting to the challenges of the new normal – and how banks and corporates can take advantage.

Six years after the Paris Agreement and the world is still looking for enablers to accelerate the net-zero journey. Many see trade finance instruments as the next significant step but that requires accurate and structured data, robust reporting capabilities, and streamlined processes. Key leading players in the area tell Euromoney what is changing in the world of sustainable trade finance.

In 2010, Soumya Rajan was a senior private banker at Standard Chartered in Mumbai. Then she quit to set up Waterfield Advisors, a multi-family office and wealth advisory firm which now helps Indian families manage US$4.3 billion in assets. She tells Euromoney why wealth management in India is so exciting, which factors are driving new money creation – and why so many private banks are so bad at serving women.

Javier Rodríguez Soler, BBVA’s global head of sustainability and corporate and investment banking, says an acquisition of Banco Sabadell would boost his division’s international standing. But BBVA is already eyeing a leading role in banking decarbonisation around the world, especially in the US. Partnerships with private equity companies, and investments in cleantech funds, are among the ways it is pursuing that goal.

Corporate supply chains are facing logistic, shipping and operational challenges while also under pressure from geopolitical tensions and natural disasters, as highlighted by trade leaders at the world’s leading banks in Euromoney’s Trade Finance Survey 2024.

New transition bond includes step-down, as new ‘green infrastructure’ bond issued.

Wholesale banking head Andrew Bester explains the renowned retail bank’s ambition to win new revenues building on its expertise in sustainable finance.

It is not enough to have the data, banks also need to bring intelligence and financial analysis to bear in sustainable finance to keep progressing.

The bank’s chief executive has led from the front to create an institution that is more diverse and better reflects the society in which it works.

With a chief executive pushing sustainable finance from the very top, HSBC is leading from the front in the global banking industry’s response to the climate emergency.

The bank is leveraging all its resources to reach six million individuals by 2025. It is well on its way.

The bank’s 10-year ScotiaRise programme has gone from strength to strength, reaching out to indigenous communities and aligning with its truth and reconciliation committee’s work.

Societe Generale has accelerated its transition and is using important mandates to convince its internal and external audiences alike.

With corporates taking a more holistic view of sustainability, banks are under pressure to address concerns over reporting and verification requirements for sustainable working capital, trade finance and liquidity management products.

For the US to come out in support of voluntary carbon markets even while arguing for their reform is an important step in the drive to seek better standards for what are vital – albeit flawed – mechanisms. But more guidelines on how to certify and trade offsets are no substitute for the real thing.

Corporate treasurers are playing it safe when balancing the merits of exploiting improved access to capital against the risk of unexpected economic shocks and business interruption.

Some companies overhype their eco-credentials, while others hide theirs. Banks are navigating this complex landscape to capitalize on surging demand for sustainable investment.

As banks focus more on climate adaptation across their businesses, are they conceding that mitigation efforts are futile?

The standards-setter has come under fire for announcing plans to allow companies to offset Scope 3 emissions as part of net-zero targets. But this kind of compromise has always been inevitable.

The decision by the US SEC to drop mandatory Scope 3 reporting weakens global emissions reporting standards. However, many corporate issuers are already using Scope 3 performance targets on sustainability-linked transactions for non-regulatory reasons. Are the debt and equities markets leading companies onto ESG ground upon which regulators fear to tread?

Corporates seeking to leverage sustainable investment opportunities continue to be restricted by the lack of reliable data on which to base their assessments.

The UBS chief investment office’s sustainable and impact investing strategist wants to avoid measurement for the sake of measurement, but responding to client demand for more data while ensuring its readability remains a challenge.

The newest ESG trend in retail banking might be a niche offering for now, but all banks will have to take it seriously someday.

Traditional custodians are maintaining their dominance in the face of growing fintech activity in the sector.

Funded by green bonds, decarbonized assets are driving emissions upwards in other sectors that supply the necessary raw materials and shipment services. A capital markets transition label ought to factor this in.

Banks need to start quantifying the legal risks of both climate action and inaction.

Corporate and development banks want their capital to reach the smallest and most impactful of SMEs in frontier markets. Traditional credit ratings and risk assessments can get in the way.

The London Stock Exchange Group’s head of sustainable finance strategic initiatives wants climate data to redefine the act of indexing.