This page provides highlights of our benchmarking of climate-related disclosures included in the 2021 annual reports of 35 major global banks. Credit risk management is the section with the most qualitative and quantitative disclosures, with some banks disclosing details of exposure to carbon-intensive sectors such as oil and gas and agriculture.
Climate-related risks may impact expected cash flows from loans and banks’ exposure to credit losses. A majority of banks disclose details about climate-related impacts on credit risk (qualitative and/or quantitative details). However, only 26% of banks provide more detailed disclosures.
Many of the banks acknowledge the credit risk impacts in their disclosures and outline measures they have already taken to consider climate-related risks in their credit risk policies and processes. The banks with more detailed disclosures provide quantitative details, such as their lending exposures in climate-intensive sectors (these details sit mainly in the unaudited front section of the annual reports).
An area which lags in detailed disclosures is expected credit losses measurement.
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Read our benchmarking analysis on how banks reported on climate-related matters in the 2021 reporting season. The report includes the scope and approach of our analysis, and how we have assessed the disclosures as ‘more detailed’, ‘less detailed’ or ‘no disclosures’ provided.
