SUSTAINABLE FINANCE
PRATIK, COULD YOU PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND SUMMARISE YOUR ROLE AT FIFTH THIRD BANK? I’ m Chief Sustainability Officer at Fifth Third Bank, which, as you may know, is what we call a super-regional bank. We are about US $ 215bn asset size.
Our consumer banking footprint is Midwest and Southeast primarily and our commercial clients are all across the US. Fun fact – we just celebrated a special birthday. Fifth Third as a fraction in decimal points is 1.667. We have been in business for 166.7 years, so it was a big, big, big year this year. And we are excited and thankful to the communities and customers for keeping us in their hearts and minds.
HOW VERY BANKING TO COME UP WITH A NUMBER LIKE THAT. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE FIFTH THIRD’ S APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY? We always say we want to do well by doing good. The word sustainability has evolved over time, but fundamentally for us it is about operating with ethics and good governance, doing good by the customers and communities and employees, and then supporting the economy of the future.
So focusing on the current, but also being ready for the future, whether it is sustainable transition, resiliency, finance. How do we not only focus and continue to help our customers innovate, do a great service, but also help them thrive in what is to come? Our approach to sustainability is much broader, but fundamentally it is what you would call good business.
“WE ALWAYS SAY WE WANT TO DO WELL BY DOING GOOD”
Pratik Raval, Chief Sustainability Officer, Fifth Third Bank
HOW DIFFICULT DO YOU FIND IT IS TO CONVINCE PEOPLE THAT BANKING AND SUSTAINABILITY CAN BE ALLIES? We thrive when our communities thrive, right? So fundamentally, philosophically, we are all aligned on the broader definition of sustainability.
Now, when it comes to operationalisation, some of the strategy, then it becomes a prioritisation exercise – what is the need of the customers and communities? What is the regulatory environment and where is the opportunity?
We are definitely supporting the sustainable economy, the sustainable transition and the economy of the future. We are supporting our clients on their renewables, transition finance and resiliency finance. We are also focused on what we call place-based economics, with a focus on solving the affordability issue and access to finance.
So we are aligned in terms of execution, prioritisation and strategically. We have realised a lot of business opportunities from helping the clients and communities thrive through these different phases of their life and business. sustainabilitymag. com 121