Pressured by fintechs, Brazil’s largest bank poised to become sustainability champion

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s Itaú Unibanco is an institution, a pillar of solidity. And not only in Brazil. But in the midst of a very disruptive scenario for the banking sector, even this giant needs to reinvent itself.

At its headquarters in São Paulo, the company knows that further growth can only come through innovation.

Maybe that is why Itaú has assumed the commitment to invest the considerable amount of R$400 (US$80) billion to promote a sustainable economy, as part of its ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) practices.

By 2025, the bank intends to invest the amount on three main fronts: (i) granting credit to sectors that provide a positive impact on society, such as energy services, health, education, and infrastructure, (ii) structuring ESG-labeled market operations to clients, such as ESG bonds, ESG loans, and green debentures, and (iii) ESG products for retail – financing electric vehicles and solar panels, for instance.

To enable the initiative, Itaú revisited its internal taxonomy and its own “positive impact” classification, taking into consideration concepts being discussed worldwide by the European Union, the Climate Bonds Initiative, and the United Nations (UN).

Read also: Check out our extensive coverage on Itaú

“We know that the ESG aspect is on the rise in the market, here and abroad,” said Leila Melo, the bank’s executive director of the Executive Committee responsible for Legal and Corporate Relations. “In this context, we take great care to present and implement practical actions, which truly and positively impact society.

Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A. is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. Itaú Unibanco was formed through the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco in 2008.

It is the largest banking institution in Brazil, as well as the largest in Latin America and in the Southern Hemisphere, and the seventy-first largest bank in the world.

It is also one of the twenty most valuable banks in the world. The bank is listed at the B3 in São Paulo and in NYSE in New York.