China Merchants Bank

In terms of senior leadership accountability, the responsibility for sustainability issues within China Merchants Bank lies with the board of directors and the strategy and sustainability committee under the board. Furthermore, the bank identified and prioritised its impacts through a materiality assessment process which included feedback from external stakeholders.

China Merchants Bank discloses the aggregate amount of its green loan solutions while specifying the main climate solutions towards which funding was granted.

China Merchants Bank discloses the amount of finance it directs toward small and medium enterprises.

In terms of its approach to senior leadership accountability, China Merchants Bank could link the remuneration of its executive or management teams to sustainability performance criteria. Further, the bank could disclose a commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment, the proportion of women on the board of directors and in senior leadership roles, as well as how it addresses any gender pay gaps. Although China Merchants Bank has environmental, social and governance (ESG) monitoring for its investment activities and an escalation framework in relation to its green credit, it has an opportunity to provide evidence of an ESG engagement for all its financing activities. Furthermore, it could publish case studies of successful and unsuccessful ESG engagement with clients.

China Merchants Bank could disclose a target to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050 and the key sectors it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the alignment with the Paris Agreement. Moreover, the bank has an opportunity to align all its financing activities devoted to climate solutions with internationally recognised frameworks and to provide time-bound targets for its green loans. Furthermore, no evidence was found that China Merchants Bank is committed to minimising its negative impacts on biodiversity or that it finances regenerative solutions.

China Merchants Bank could disclose publicly available policy statements committing it to respect human rights and the health and safety of workers. The bank has also an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially its financing activities. While it discloses the ages and genders of its total workforce, China Merchants Bank could provide this information for each employee category. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, the bank has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards women-owned businesses and low-income developing countries. To conclude, China Merchants Bank could establish a grievance mechanism accessible to all workers, external individuals and communities to raise human rights complaints or concerns