A quick look at foreign markets, however, makes the banks realise that rising interest rates are not just a theoretical risk – they could actually materialise. The considerable rise in rates of inflation in many countries in recent months has resulted in banks focusing more on the potential risk from interest rates rising rapidly and sharply. More than a quarter of the banks (26%), significantly more than in the previous year (13%), view this scenario as the greatest challenge for their interest rate risk management.
Investing and lending to protect the climate and a desire for regulation
Almost half of those surveyed (45%) state that sustainable investment is the best way for them to protect the climate effectively. Lending came just behind in second place, rated as the main lever for sustainable climate protection by 43% of the banks.
In lending, just under half of the banks surveyed said that they take sustainability factors into account when lending to commercial customers. While a rapid move towards more sustainable lending has been seen in the past few years, a status quo now seems to have become established; only one-quarter of banks continue to categorically rule out taking ESG factors into account when lending – just as in the previous year.