CIMB

In terms of senior leadership accountability, the responsibility for sustainability issues lies with CIMB’s board-level Group Sustainability and Governance Committee. Additionally, the financial institution links the remuneration of both its executive team and its management team to sustainability performance criteria. Regarding engagement, CIMB describes its engagement approach on sustainability themes and impact topics, and details how this approach is applied in practice with clients and investees. In regard to gender diversity, the financial institution has gender-balanced representation among its senior leadership roles where 44% of positions are held by women.

CIMB has set a target of net-zero financed emissions by 2050. It also has a time-bound target for its climate solutions. The financial institution aims to finance MYR 30 billion in climate solutions by 2024. Additionally, the financial institution discloses absolute financed emissions, including the underlying data quality and coverage. Regarding biodiversity, CIMB discloses its exposure to priority sectors and areas with a high dependency and impact on nature and biodiversity, as well as the financing criteria it uses to ensure the protection of nature and biodiversity. Finally, CIMB provides evidence that it requires companies to which it provides financial services to have a strategy addressing their nature- and biodiversity-related impacts.

CIMB has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights and the ILO core labour rights. Moreover, the financial institution has a grievance mechanism, accessible to all workers and all external stakeholders, to raise both human rights, and bribery and corruption, concerns and complaints. CIMB also discloses in a policy document that it prohibits bribery and corruption. In regard to tax, the financial institution discloses a global tax strategy and assigns responsibility for its global tax strategy to its board of directors. Finally, CIMB discloses the amount of finance it directs towards usually excluded groups, specifically the lower income community in Malaysia and Indonesia.

In regard to gender equality and diversity, CIMB has an opportunity to increase the representation of women on the board of directors. Currently, only 3 out of 10 board members are women. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the financial institution has a public commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. In terms of remuneration, while the financial institution discloses the total ratio of basic salary to men and women in different employee categories, in Malaysia, it could disclose these metrics for its total direct operations workforce. Moreover, while the financial institution monitors its pay gap, there is no evidence that it takes action to address it. Regarding engagement, CIMB has an opportunity to describe how its engagement approach integrates success criteria and escalation points.

While CIMB has a net-zero financed emissions by 2050 target, it could also disclose interim emissions reduction targets at the group level, such as a 45% reduction in financed emissions by 2030. In terms of engagement, the financial institution has an opportunity to disclose the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on alignment with the Paris Agreement. It could also disclose the amount or share its financing activities devoted to climate solutions. Regarding fossil fuels, while it will not finance the construction or expansion of new thermal coal mines or coal-fired power plants, CIMB has an opportunity to disclose that it will not provide any form of finance to any new fossil fuel project.

CIMB has an opportunity to describe a process for identifying human rights risks and impacts through its relevant financing activities. In terms of financing for usually excluded groups, while the financial institution discloses the amount of finance it directs towards lower income communities in Malaysia and Indonesia, it could clarify the amount being directed towards small- and medium-sized enterprises or other low-income developing countries. While the financial institution has a health and safety policy, it does not use strong enough language to constitute a true commitment to health and safety.