The United Nations, through the Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), sets out sustainability principles in the framework of contemporary banking practice. Currently under consultation, the Principles for Responsible Banking10 aim to define the role and the responsibilities of the banking sector in a sustainable future, where banks align their business practices with the global community goals and create value for society.
As the economic recovery gains momentum, however, both of these conditions should reverse and give bankers the opportunity to deploy the liquidity and capital they have amassed to the benefit of their shareholders and their local economies.