Case study: How BanBajío identifies and works on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts

Stakeholder identification and consultation

Please describe which stakeholders (or groups/ types of stakeholders) you have identified, consulted, engaged, collaborated or partnered with for the purpose of implementing the Principles and improving your bank’s impacts. This should include a high-level overview of how your bank has identified relevant stakeholders, what issues were addressed/results achieved and how they fed into the action planning process.

In previous years, BanBajío conducted both internal and external analyses to identify and prioritize its stakeholders. Notably, in 2021, the bank performed a double materiality assessment by consulting external stakeholder groups to pinpoint key issues that could pose risks or opportunities for the bank, considering both environmental and social impacts as well as the financial implications for the institution.

As of 2024, the stakeholder prioritization and double materiality analysis have not yet been updated to incorporate the application of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRBs) or to focus on reducing negative impacts while enhancing positive ones. Nevertheless, updates to these analyses are planned for future reports.

Drawing from these analyses, the bank’s stakeholders—including individuals and entities with direct or indirect influence on, or those impacted by, the bank’s activities—are as follows:

• Employees
• Shareholders and investors
• Rating agencies
• Suppliers
• Authorities
• Regulatory bodies
• Competitors
• The financial sector
• Media
• Academia
• Allies and civil society organizations
• The broader community

BanBajío maintains various communication channels with these stakeholders, such as the website, integrated reports, social media platforms, internal communication tools (newsletters, emails, meeting minutes), face-to-face interactions (meetings, forums, breakfasts), video calls, confidential channels (01800 numbers and email), telephone, and traditional media, among others, tailored to each stakeholder group.

Additionally, BanBajío has a Code of Conduct that sets out the values and principles guiding relationships among employees and with external agents, including customers and consumers.

How did BanBajío identify and work on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts?

In its 2024 PRB Responsible Banking Progress Statement BanBajío reports that it identified and worked on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts as follows:

During the 2022 financial year, key areas of both positive and negative impact identified by BanBajío for Corporate Banking and Consumer Banking included Resource Efficiency/Security, Climate, and Inclusive and Healthy Economies. Accordingly, in 2024, BanBajío made progress on several opportunity-driven initiatives aimed at enhancing positive impacts and mitigating negative ones in these areas. These initiatives included:

• For the SME segment, four loans were guaranteed in 2024, supporting working capital, fixed assets, and hotel capacity expansion projects, including sustainable development and energy-saving initiatives. The total value of these loans was DOP 17.4 million, with support from BANCOMEXT.
• Additionally, with BANCOMEXT backing, 69 loans totalling DOP 305.9 million were guaranteed for companies primarily managed by women, with funds allocated for working capital or fixed assets. Furthermore, a loan of DOP 1.5 million was guaranteed for similar purposes and borrower profiles, with support from NAFIN.

BanBajío also conducted an initial assessment to identify economic activities within the agro-industrial sector that meet Mexico’s Sustainable Taxonomy criteria. This analysis was based on the SCIAN classification of economic activities used by the bank, which is less detailed than the Taxonomy. The bank intends to refine this analysis and include additional sectors in future reports.

Moreover, considering the potential impacts of its portfolio, BanBajío has committed to various actions aligned with SDGs 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 16. Details of these commitments can be found in the Integrated Report and the PRB Self-Assessment Report for 2023.

UN Principles for Responsible Banking: Accelerating a positive global transition for people and the planet

With over 300 signatory banks representing almost half of the global banking industry, the Principles for Responsible Banking are the world’s foremost sustainable banking framework. Through these Principles, the banking community takes action to align core strategies, decision-making, lending and investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

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The combination of all the above empowers FBRH to provide first class Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) assurance services.

References:

This case study is based on published information by BanBajío, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:

https://www.bb.com.mx/cs/BanBajio/home/Inversionistas/Sustentabilidad/PRB_Responsible-Banking-Progress-Statement-2024.pdf

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