10th July 2023 – Building on its commitment to achieving net zero financed emissions by 2050, DBS today announced that it has upskilled over 1,600 Institutional Banking Relationship Managers (RMs) and 170 Credit Risk Managers (CRMs) to deepen their knowledge in sustainable financing practices and better help corporate clients navigate the increasingly complex sustainability landscape.
This was achieved through specialised Climate Activation Workshops which DBS has been organising since December last year to ensure a robust understanding of the bank’s net zero commitments as it executes towards its decarbonisation targets announced in September 20221. Through these workshops that DBS jointly developed with external sustainability consultants, participants gain a deeper understanding of climate risk, as well as practical tools to identify suitable transition and sustainable financing opportunities for clients. Going forward, DBS will incorporate these Climate Activation Workshops as part of the training curriculum for all new Institutional Banking RMs and CRMs to ensure consistency in driving sustainability conversations with corporate clients.
Yulanda Chung, Head of Sustainability, Institutional Banking Group, DBS, said, “Our ability to reduce our financed emissions is integrally tied to the success of our clients’ own decarbonisation efforts, and we are committed to helping them on this process. Our RMs play a crucial role as catalysts in supporting our clients on their sustainability journeys. That is why we have invested in curating tailored workshops that go beyond the bank’s foundational sustainability curriculum so as to equip our RMs with the right tools to partner our corporate clients effectively on their decarbonisation efforts.”
The Climate Activation Workshops are more specialised than job-specific sustainability training programmes currently offered under the DBS Sustainability Learning Campus, which was launched in late 2022. The campus houses all sustainability-related training programmes – which encompass basic to more advanced courses – by the DBS Academy for the bank’s 36,000 employees.
Ryan Cheah, Vice President at Institutional Banking Group, DBS, said, “Participating in the Climate Activation Workshop has deepened my knowledge and sharpened my ability to better support customers in leveraging suitable strategies and opportunities on their emissions reduction journeys. On a personal level, I have gained a better understanding on the impact of climate change, and this has further inspired me to do my part to reduce my own carbon footprint.”
DBS’ committed sustainable financial transactions – which comprise green loans, renewable energy loans, sustainability loans and transition loans – totalled SGD 61 billion as of end-2022, exceeding its cumulative SGD 50 billion target two years ahead of its 2024 timeline.
Additionally, the bank has upskilled close to 500 of its RMs from the DBS Private Bank and DBS Treasures Private Client in sustainable investing over the past two years, with more than 60% of its clients’ portfolio now made up of sustainable investments (MSCI BBB-rating), surpassing its 50% target two years ahead of its 2023 timeline.
DBS’ efforts ladder up to Singapore’s focus on becoming a sustainable finance hub and align with national initiatives such as the Green Finance Action Plan, which aims to foster the development of sustainable finance capabilities in Singapore, support the transition to a greener economy, as well as create opportunities for the banking and financial services sector to generate sustainability-related jobs.
Footnote
- In its report, “Our Path to Net Zero – Supporting Asia’s Transition to a Low-carbon Economy”, DBS outlined a set of decarbonisation and data coverage targets covering nine industry sectors representing the most carbon-intensive institutional banking segments financed by DBS. More details at:
https://www.dbs.com/newsroom/Singapores_DBS_first_bank_in_Southeast_Asia_to_announce_landmark_set_of_decarbonis
ation_commitments 
