What are the various aspects of responsible banking and what are the challenges faced by banks? In this interview, Aude Payan and Elena Fuzzi, respectively Director and Senior Manager in Risk Consulting and in charge of ESG services for credit institutions at KPMG provide detailed insight and examples for innovative strategies for financial institutions to advance ethical banking standards.
We enhance digitalisation
Digitalisation has enabled us to strengthen our competitive position in the face of new market participants such as the neo-banks. By supporting our professional clients in the realisation of their innovation projects, we are contributing to the digitisation of the Luxembourg economy. In collaboration with the European Investment Fund, we are actively supporting our SME clients (small and medium-sized businesses) who want to undertake projects in this area.
We support energy efficiency projects
Since 2022, we provide our clients access to the European Investement Bank's "Green Eligibility Checker" which help our clients verify whether their projects are compliant with the Taxonomy and the Paris Agreement. Consequently, our "Ecobonus" is granted according to how "green" the Green Eligibilty Checker estimates a given project (-50% fees).
Our “Grants and Financing Advisory Service” is intended to support our clients in their energy efficiency projects and help them understand the aid and grants that are available to them. We have implemented tools to identify projects that are eligible for these grants and subsidies, guide our clients on actions they can take, propose types of financing adapted to different projects, and support them in their ecological, energy efficiency or sustainable development projects. We have an online simulator that enables our clients to find out whether their projects are eligible for a grant, and tell them their carbon footprint and gain in CO2 tax for the next two years. For SME clients, the concept is the same. We support them in their projects related to energy efficiency, innovation, business development, renewable energies and electromobility. To take account of the “Social” aspect, the new version of our tool also includes the various state grants available for the acquisition, construction or renovation of a property in Luxembourg.
We support alternative funding
We are currently supporting 289 alternative etika financings
Thanks to the solidarity of the holders of an Epargne Alternative account, the savings deposit finances projects that respect ecological and social criteria (e.g. solar energy or social housing etc.).