ESG risk management at PKO Bank Polski
ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) risk management is an important element of the management system at PKO Bank Polski. Due to its cross-sectional nature, ESG risk affects a number of areas of the Bank's operations, including both an assessment of the impact of ESG factors on the functioning of the Bank's Group and a detailed analysis of the effects of operations in the context of the broadly understood environment.
Definitions related to ESG risk have been included in the Risk Management Strategy at PKO Bank Polski S.A. and the PKO Bank Polski S.A. Group.
For the purposes of sustainability reporting, the Bank adopts a definition of environmental (including climate) physical and transition risk in the portfolio assessment in accordance with the CRR III Capital Requirements Regulation:
- physical risk as part of environmental risk means the risk of any negative financial impact on an institution caused by the current or future impact of the physical effects of environmental factors on the institution's counterparties or on the assets invested by the institution
- transition risk, as part of environmental risk, means the risk of any negative financial impact on an institution caused by the current or future impact of the transition to an environmentally sustainable economy on the institution's counterparties or on the assets it invests.
The materiality study identified 10 climate-related risks, which were divided into two categories:
- climate-related physical risks;
- transition risks arising from climate change.
With regard to other processes related to traditionally understood banking risk, climate risk is identified and managed as part of ESG risk assessment processes.
The industry in which the Bank's Group operates does not have a significant, direct impact on the climate. This impact is manifested primarily indirectly through the financing provided to customers. That is why the Bank carries out a number of projects and analyses at the client and portfolio level, which aims to create solutions and tools to support ESG risk management.
The activities carried out are aimed at m.in:
- taking into account the results of climate tests in the credit policy,
- development of credit risk assessment models that take into account ESG aspects,
- ensuring compliance with the EBA Guidelines EBA Guidelines 16 on ESG risk management.
- ESG risk managemen structure
- ESG risk management is supervised by the Bank's Management Board, which sets the risk management framework and ensures compliance with the Bank's policies.
- Business units identify ESG risks at an early stage by assessing risks in their customer relationships.
- Risk management units conduct an independent ESG risk assessment.
PKO Bank Polish systematically assesses the impact of ESG risk on credit decisions, analysing environmental, social and governance factors in the context of customers' creditworthiness. Loans are classified based on their ESG impact and ESG impact on a given transaction.
ESG risk assessment in the credit process is also carried out through the application of credit policies for industries/sectors – described in the Sustainable Development Report, which is part of the Report on the Activities of the PKO Bank Polski S.A. Group.
In the first half of 2024, for the purposes of ESG risk management and reporting, the Bank's Management Board adopted the principles for the classification of the loan portfolio, which specify, in particular, the criteria for identifying and classifying exposures financing environmental, social policy and corporate governance activities.
The Bank distinguishes four classes of exposures financing activities in the field of environmental protection, social policy and corporate governance:
- Sustainable development exposures that relate to the financing of economic activities that have a positive impact on the environment, in particular that contribute to the achievement of the environmental objectives described in Article 9 of the EU Taxonomy, and that relate to the financing of activities that have a positive impact on society and communities.
- environmentally sustainable exposures that relate to the financing of economic activities that meet the criteria described in Article 3 of the EU Taxonomy.
- Environmentally neutral exposures that relate to the financing of economic activities for which it is not possible to assign an environmental objective and have not been classified in the class of exposures supporting the Sustainable Development Goals, in the class of environmentally sustainable exposures and have not been classified in the class of exposures with a negative impact on the environment.
- exposures with a negative impact on the environment, which concern the financing of economic activities contributing to significant greenhouse gas emissions, air, water and soil pollution, deforestation, waste production, destruction of biodiversity or overexploitation of natural resources.
In addition, the Bank takes into account the impact of climate risk on credit collateral, conducting a comprehensive assessment of both physical risk and the risk of transition to a low-carbon economy.
The 2024 study took into account the impact of ESG factors, with particular emphasis on climate risk factors in the cards of those types of risk in which the Bank notices the potential materialization of the impact of ESG risk, i.e. credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk (including financing), currency risk, operational risk, reputational risk, compliance risk and conduct risk.
Detailed information on climate risk management can be found in the Report "Capital adequacy and other information of the Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski Spółka Akcyjna Group, subject to publication as at 31 December 2024".
- ESG risk monitoring