Case study: How BanBajío promotes a culture of responsible banking among its employees

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 carried out both internal and external analyses to identify and prioritize its stakeholders. Notably, in 2021, the bank conducted a double materiality assessment by consulting external stakeholder groups to identify key issues that could pose risks or opportunities for the bank, considering both environmental and social impacts together with 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. However, updates to these analyses are planned for future reports.

Drawing from these analyses, BanBajío’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 uses 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 the bank’s employees and with external agents, including customers and consumers.

How does BanBajío promote a culture of responsible banking among its employees?

In its 2024 PRB Responsible Banking Progress Statement BanBajío reports that it took the following actions to promote a culture of responsible banking among its employees:

In 2024, Banco del Bajío provided training on A&S risk management for select members of the Credit Analysis and Business departments, who will be involved in the upcoming implementation of the new ESMS. These sessions aimed to deliver the essential guidelines for applying A&S risk exclusion, categorization, assessment, and management tools within the bank’s lending activities. Additionally, the potential adoption of Mexico’s Sustainable Taxonomy was discussed collaboratively with the Risk, Credit Analysis, and Business teams.

Furthermore, there are plans to train the front-line staff of the General Directorate on key ESG issues, with a particular emphasis on climate change, as this area of impact has been identified as significant for the bank in terms of both risks and opportunities related to climate management.

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.

FBRH Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) Assurance:

First class PRB assurance services: The result of solid, hands-on ESG/ Sustainability experience

• • • FBRH is a GRI Certified Training Partner (Global), ISEP Training Centre and a member of CPD.
    • FBRH builds trust. Over 200 reviews from top professionals from around the world demonstrate our ability to build strong, trusting business relationships.
    • FBRH possesses a unique skill set that combines ESG/sustainability certified training, experience in advisory services and report preparation, and ESG/sustainability report assurance.

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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