The inevitable rise of environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements is pushing banks to act. Sustainability can no longer be regarded as peripheral but is set to become central to credit institutions. Committed to supporting organisations in achieving this aim and following from the success of the first KPMG training course on leveraging the opportunities that ESG creates in the gaming industry, KPMG in Malta recently hosted a webinar focusing on ESG in the banking sector. The ESG in banking webinar brought together over 60 participants from most local banks, the Malta Bankers’ Association (MBA) and the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Speakers included experts from the KPMG network – particularly Malta, Germany and Cyprus – as well as the head of banking supervision at the MFSA, David Eacott. Author Rachel Decelis, ESG lead for KPMG in Malta, gave an overview of ESG drivers, which include the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, climate change, changing consumer sentiment, pressures from capital markets, and regulations, including the EU Taxonomy and the proposed Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). With the expected implementation...