VTB Group is to launch an ESG platform in Russia which includes a set of financial products and services that meet environmental, social and corporate governance standards.
VTB is making the platform open to its partners and clients ranging from constituent entities of the Russian Federation to companies and individuals. President and Chairman of VTB Management Board Andrey Kostin announced the creation of an ESG platform in the run-up to the first congress of responsible business ESG-(R) Evolution.
“Business partnerships are part of VTB’s philosophy,” Andrey Kostin says. “Only the collective efforts of all the participants – society, business and government – are effective when it comes to environmental sphere, social development and governance. VTB has been consistently integrating ESG elements into its operations for several years now. Up until this moment, this has been our private initiative. However, today, compliance with the ESG agenda is mandatory and is a new significant factor in market regulation and investment appeal, which impacts the cost of capital. Mutually beneficial partnership of the banking system, companies, regions and individuals will make the transition to ESG standards possible. We are launching an ESG platform to support this transition.”
The ESG platform provides its clients with access to federal and regional social support measures, easy-term lending, as well as targeted payments, free insurance and fund protection services that VTB provides to families with children and pensioners in a one-stop-shop manner. Special attention is paid to promoting financial solutions that ensure the growth of wellbeing and also improve the clients’ financial situation, such as optimising the debt load, refinancing, creating a safety blanket, and switching to regular and effective savings and investments.
Agreements are expected to be signed, bringing the Russian regions on to the platform. The agreements will be used to jointly develop areas such as joint promotion of social programmes and VTB products, programmes to support entrepreneurs, financing of social, transport and urban infrastructure. This includes the placement of regional ESG bonds, cooperation in the sphere of housing construction and joining VTB’s universal programme for easy-term mortgage lending. VTB’s support for sports, educational, healthcare and cultural projects as part of the bank’s relevant charity programmes will also be included.
The platform opens ESG educational projects for major Russian universities with the support of the Graduate School of Management, St Petersburg State University.
In total, the ESG platform’s perimeter includes about 20 areas of VTB Group’s activities, though this list will expand.
