RiskSphere has supported a major promotional bank in the Netherlands in strengthening its ESG risk management capabilities. The engagement focused on developing a structured and forward-looking framework to identify, assess, and manage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks in line with the bank’s public mandate and its role within the Dutch financial system.
Our client is one of the largest banks in the Netherlands in terms of total assets. As a promotional bank, this institution plays a key role in the national financial system and must meet stringent requirements in the area of ESG and sustainability risk management.
The bank has a strong public mandate, which means it applies a distinct approach to serving its clients and society at large. Due to the specific nature of the bank’s financing activities, its processes are structured differently from those of traditional commercial banks.
RiskSphere was engaged to help professionalise the bank’s risk management function with respect to ESG topics. The objective of the ESG risk management framework is to provide the bank with a comprehensive process for identifying and understanding risks and opportunities across different time horizons, and for addressing them in a coherent and purposeful manner.
Our team developed an ESG risk management framework and initiated a detailed risk identification process, including a risk materiality assessment. The outcomes of this assessment are now used to conduct stress tests or scenario analyses, depending on the time horizon.
The framework was subsequently embedded into the bank’s broader risk management policies. In other words, ESG risks and related action plans were fully integrated into the organisation’s overall business operations.
RiskSphere also supported the bank’s risk management department in gaining deeper insight into how ESG risks may evolve over time. This provided the bank with a clearer understanding of potential impacts across different timeframes. Through workshops with senior management and a broad group of representatives across the bank, we further refined the concept of scenario analysis.
Following the transfer of responsibilities to the bank’s internal organisation, RiskSphere successfully completed the engagement. We are proud to have supported our client with a comprehensive and forward-looking approach to ESG risk management.