MNB and EBRD Held Conference on International Green Finance

In the conference, Irene Heemskerk, the Senior Strategic Adviser at DNB and the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), stressed the importance of the new climate responsibility of national banks and financial supervisors. György Matolcsy, the Governor of MNB, said that environmental and financial risks are interrelated and climate change mitigation is an element of financial stability that market participants, regulators, and supervisors must support with their own resources. Csaba Kandrács, the Deputy Governor of MNB, outlined the measures planned by the Hungarian central bank to green the financial system. Leaders of the region's leading banking groups, EU and Chinese green finance ambassadors, and interpreters from the European Investment Bank and the Beijing International Institute of Green Finance gave a presentation on the possibilities of lending for environmental sustainability. Foreign and domestic fund managers also discussed new types of investment opportunities with the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects.

The event was attended by a more than 250 participants, representatives of 13 countries (including Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, and Germany), central banks, and financial supervisors. The participants included EBRD, ECB, the European Investment Bank, the International Investment Bank, the Global Green Growth Institute , and the Chinese Association for Asian Financial Cooperation. The entire domestic banking system, many foreign credit institutions, credit rating agencies and, from the state side, the Office of the President of the Republic, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, and the Budget Council were also present.

Keywords: Europe, Hungary, Banks, Green Finance, NGFS, EBRD, Climate Change Risk, ESG, MNB