Global Bank Review 2025: Embedding sustainability into banking – A strategic imperative

·23 min·2 clips

Heike Schmitz explains why managing complexity is the air modern banks must breathe, setting the stage for a discussion on sustainability as a strategic imperative.

This episode is a recorded podcast complementing HSF Kramer's 2025 Global Bank Review, focusing on the theme 'innovating amid turbulence'. Host Heike Schmitz, a partner in the financial services team specializing in regulation and ESG, interviews guest Ed Wilcock, Co-Head Energy Transition and Sustainability at Marsh's Swiss Consulting Business. The discussion centers on why sustainability has become a strategic imperative for banks amid global complexity. Wilcock outlines the increased challenges compared to five years ago, citing regulatory divergence and conflicting signals from stakeholders like clients and suppliers. Schmitz provides examples from World Economic Forum speeches in Davos, showing how sustainability rhetoric has shifted to terms like security and technology, with geopolitical splits between the US, China, and EU. They delve into the critical need for sustainability data and scenario analysis for banks, despite regulatory rollbacks in some regions. Wilcock highlights physical climate risks, suggesting a four-degree temperature rise could make the world unbankable due to insurability issues. The conversation addresses regulatory approaches, debating 'smart regulation' and principles-based frameworks like TCFD and ISSB. They consider geopolitical focus, noting the rising importance of BRICS nations and emerging economies like India and Brazil in filling climate leadership vacuums. Wilcock emphasizes banks' roles in regulatory lobbying and capital allocation. The episode ends on an opportunity angle, with data showing green technology financing up 10% year-on-year and now roughly double fossil fuel flows. The format is an interview, with a neutral, educational tone exploring banking, sustainability, and global trends.

As heard by us

A measured look at how sustainability reporting and geopolitical pressure are reshaping banking strategy.

Sustainability comes through as a banking strategy shaped by instability, fast-moving technology, and mixed pressure around ESG and the workplace.

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Why you'd press play

You get a clear-eyed tour of how sustainability has become a strategic imperative for banking, even as ESG pressures diverge across geographies.

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