Doha: As Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, risks and opportunities are becoming increasingly relevant for financial institutions, and other entities, said experts in a webinar.
KPMG in Qatar recently hosted a session on ESG in the banking sector titled “Banking on ESG: fad or the future”. The webinar discussed some of Qatar, and wider GCC, banking specific issues, challenges and opportunities as they relate to ESG adoption for banks.
The session was led by a panel of experts including Omar Mahmood (pictured), Head of Financial Services, KPMG in the Middle East & South Asia, Dr Kay Swinburne Vice Chair of Financial Services – KPMG in the UK and former member of European Parliament, Mohsin Mujtaba, Director & Head of Product & Market Development – Qatar Stock Exchange, and Akber Khan Senior Director – Al Rayan Investment.
While discussing the status of ESG at Qatari banks, Mahmood stated: “While significant progress has been made in the ESG space by banks in Qatar, through green bond issuances, sustainability reporting, greater diversity amongst other initiatives, there is still considerable work to be done by banks, regulators, advisors, auditors, and all market participants to really embed ESG into the DNA of the financial markets.”
Akber Khan then added: “Capital flows have already started, and will continue, to flow to entities with more mature ESG adoption. Although progress has been made in recent years on the G aspect of ESG by banks in Qatar through recent regulation, greater focus will be needed on the Environmental and Social elements of ESG going forward.”
Mohsin Mujtaba, shared his insights on the future of ESG reporting for entities, where he said: “Access to capital will ultimately be driven by ESG performance, and to facilitate this the Qatar Stock Exchange will be introducing mandatory ESG reporting for listed entities, including banks, from January 2022 as well as an ESG index later in the year.”
Kay Swinburne also shared her insights from a broader point of view where she mentioned: “ESG reporting is high on the agenda for policy and law makers across the globe. While many countries are looking to introduce mandatory reporting, the key will be the introduction of some form of common reporting standards that entities can follow to help ensure comparability and consistency .”
With more than 170 registered for the session from Qatar, the GCC and other countries, the panelists made sure to secure some time to answer questions asked by the attendees before concluding the session where Omar Mahmood shed the light on the increasing importance of the ESG topic today and the role that banks should play to embrace ESG.
