Disentangling the S and the G in the European banking industry: The role of climate risk and opportunity awareness

The awareness of climate change risks and opportunities is crucial for the banking industry, as the environmental transition poses social (S) and governance (G) challenges. An extensive literature has examined the drivers and effects of ESG performance – proxied by ESG scores - on banking dimensions, whereas the relationship between climate risks and opportunities management and S and G factors has received little attention. Using a sample of European banks over the 2013–2022 period, we provide empirical evidence on the crucial role of financial institutions' climate awareness in improving S and G strategies and practices. In particular, this link is positive and significant for some social and governance sub-scores related to the green transition, such as product responsibility, community, stakeholder engagement, and management. Moreover, some supervisory and risk governance mechanisms, such as the IRB approach validation for regulatory purposes, seem to strengthen this relationship. Robust to a battery of sensitivity and robustness checks, our results offer a new contribution to the literature, providing useful suggestions for banks, policymakers, and regulatory authorities, supporting the ongoing debate about the interconnectedness between climate risk awareness and the other spheres of sustainable development.