Case study: How Fineco 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 addition to ongoing engagement with all stakeholders, FinecoBank has conducted targeted activities with a select group of key stakeholders to identify the material impacts, risks, and opportunities related to sustainability. The main stakeholders involved in this process included:

• Internal stakeholders: management and Personal Financial Advisors (PFAs)
• External stakeholders: financial investors

Internal stakeholders participated as follows:

• Management engaged through regular meetings within the activities of the internal Sustainability Management Committee, composed of top management and department heads, with support from the Structure of Sustainability and the Chief Risk Officer.
• PFAs participated through two dedicated workshop sessions.

External stakeholders, specifically financial investors, were involved through one-on-one meetings facilitated by the Structure of Sustainability and Investor Relations.

Furthermore, Fineco updated its stakeholder list within the value chain, categorizing stakeholders based on their position (upstream, own operations, downstream), the nature of their relationship with the bank (operational, commercial, strategic), and their role within the bank’s ecosystem.

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

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

In 2024, based on the results of the Double Materiality Analysis, Fineco identified several business opportunities related to clients, including:

• Enhancing customer loyalty through transparent and clear communication, including on sustainability issues.
• Attracting new clients and strengthening loyalty among existing ones by implementing digital and innovative solutions, products, and services, as well as through inclusion initiatives with specific targets (e.g., the Underage Account “Conto Minori,” scholarships, etc.).
• Expanding the client base and increasing the availability of instruments and products with ESG features.

In 2024, the “Conto Minori” was introduced to promote financial literacy among young people by offering a practical and secure tool to introduce them to money management. Efforts to foster responsible and sustainable financial habits were further supported through events and informational materials as previously described.

The bank’s commitment to sustainable finance products, such as mutual funds and ETFs, continued with the following achievements:

• 80% of new funds in 2024 had a Fineco ESG rating of 6 or higher (on a scale from 1 to 10).
• 68% of new funds in 2024 were classified under SFDR Articles 8 or 9.
• 79% of all funds at the end of 2024 were classified under SFDR Articles 8 or 9 (up from 67% at the end of 2023).

These milestones are part of the targets outlined in the MYP ESG. Additionally, the offering of financial products with sustainability features included:

• ETFs, with 26% of new launches in 2024 classified under SFDR Articles 8 or 9, and 72% of new launches with a Fineco ESG rating of 6 or higher.
• Green mortgages, which finance the purchase of energy-efficient properties (Class A or B), accounted for 10% of new production in 2024 (down from 20% in 2023), and represented 17% of the total mortgage portfolio at year-end (compared to 18% at the end of 2023).
• Green loans, used to finance renewable energy installations, completed their ramp-up phase following their launch at the end of 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.

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 Fineco, 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://images.finecobank.com/docs/pdf/pub/corporate/sostenibilita/responsible-banking-progress-statement-2024-en.pdf

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