This year's sustainable banking report surveyed banking executives across the US, UK, the Netherlands and Australia uncovering significant changes in their priorities.
WALTHAM, Mass., June 13, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Hexaware Mobiquity, a digital consultancy that designs and delivers innovative digital products and services for the world's leading brands, released today the results of the firm's annual Global Benchmark for Sustainable Banking Report. This third iteration of the report surveyed 600 C-suite banking executives across the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Australia, uncovering significant changes in attitudes toward sustainable initiatives.
This year, only 26% of C-Suites surveyed declared sustainable banking as a top concern at the board level compared to 41% last year across all regions. In the U.S., almost all (97%) C-suites surveyed in 2021 and 2022 said sustainability was an important part of their business strategy. However, this year, that number has dropped to just over 70%.
Following this trend, over 90% of U.S. C-suites surveyed in 2021 and 2022 said they had a representative at the board level who oversees their sustainability strategy. In 2023, that number has fallen drastically to just over 60%. U.S. banks have also scaled back their efforts and actions to foster sustainable behaviors and outcomes. This figure peaked last year, spiking from just over half in 2021 to over 80% in 2022. This year, that number has fallen to its lowest point of just over one-third.
"The increasing environmental concern and actions observed by U.S. banks in 2022 were extremely encouraging. Now, less than one year later, it's interesting to watch this progress decline," said Peter-Jan van de Venn, VP Global Digital Banking at Hexaware Mobiquity. "Still, it is important to note that U.S. banks are not an exception when it comes to the scaling back of sustainability initiatives and actions. Each region we surveyed observed a noticeable drop in most categories compared to the previous years. However, it's clear with the shifting increased focus to the current economic climate, banks have put other priorities, sustainability mainly, to the side as the challenges continue."
Additional key findings include:
- U.S. banks listed reputational risks (39%) as the most common ESG risk they face, followed by climate change risks (31%)
- The top concern at the board level for U.S. banks is the present economic climate, followed by talent management.
- U.S. banks list limited access to talent and expertise as the top barrier to adopting more sustainable practices.
- The U.S. region saw a significant drop in banks with a sustainability representative at the board level falling from almost 100% in 2022 to just over two-thirds in 2023.
- In 2022, almost all banks were using digital transformation initiatives to drive sustainable outcomes – in 2023, that number has dropped to just over 80%.
The full Benchmark for Sustainable Banking Report is available at https://www.mobiquity.com/insights/global-benchmark-for-sustainable-banking-2023.
To read more on Hexaware's ESG initiatives visit https://hexaware.com/about-us/esg/. To learn more about how Hexaware Mobiquity is transforming companies' digital strategies, visit us here: https://www.mobiquity.com/our-work.
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About Hexaware Mobiquity
Hexaware is a global technology and business process services company. Our 29,000 Hexawarians wake up every day with a singular purpose; to create smiles through great people and technology. With 54 offices in 19 countries, we empower enterprises worldwide to realize digital transformation at scale and speed by partnering with them to build, transform, run, and optimize their technology and business processes.
Mobiquity, part of Hexaware, is a digital consultancy that partners with the world's leading brands to design and deliver compelling digital products and services for their customers. Its approach balances human needs with usefully applied technology, unbound creativity with research and analytics, and agile development with strict engineering and security standards. Hexaware Mobiquity has extensive experience in the banking domain, particularly in creating greenfield digital banks and new labels for our fintech and banking clients.
Learn more about Hexaware at https://www.hexaware.com. Learn more about Hexaware Mobiquity at https://mobiquity.com.
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SOURCE Hexaware Mobiquity
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