Sustainability Analysis in corporate lending

A sustainability analysis is carried out in corporate lending covering the areas of human rights, corruption and the environment. Sustainability analysis is an integral part of credit analysis and aims to assess how the risks related to these areas affect Swedbank’s and its customers’ profitability and reputation if they should occur, but also the customers’ repayment ability and collateral security value. The dialogue with the customer also creates new business opportunities for both the bank and the customer, by jointly raising a question or seeing a need for an investment associated with a future sustainable development in the industry.

It has become increasingly important for corporations to operate in a sustainable way, and most corporations are highly aware of the significance of these issues. They want to know who to do business with and environmental certification or codes of conduct that regulates social responsibility are often requirements in commercial contracts. Also, customers have great power in their selection of sustainable products and services.

The area social responsibility in the sustainability analysis seeks briefly to explore how the company is working to ensure respect for human rights, for example in the supply chain, among the employees and in the local community.

Environmental responsibility in the sustainability analysis aims at to determine if there is a structured environmental work – responsibility distribution, procedures and monitoring. It may include an environmental management system. But the client can also have clear roles and routines to compensate for the lack of a management system.