The trend of ESG and impact investing rolls on.

Societe Generale has launched a “sustainable and positive impact finance” offering within its global banking and investor solutions operation. The bank aims to use its environmental and social expertise in crafting a range of financial solutions for clients.

This initiative fits with SocGen's social and environmental responsibility policy, the Paris-headquartered bank said.

Pierre Palmieri, currently head of global finance, will lead the “sustainable and positive impact finance” offering, in addition to existing roles. He will coordinate the client offering within the different businesses to ensur it is consistent; Palmieri will also promote its development.
 

The bank, along with peers such as BNP Paribas in France and Switzerland's UBS, is making a point of work done in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) space, as well as impact investing area. These are seen as ways for banks to win over Millennial investors and add value to clients in an increasingly competitive environment. 

ESG-themed investing has grown over the past few years. Last week, for example, BNP Paribas issued an 83-page report about entrepreneurs and impact investing, which found that more “elite entrepreneurs” around the world want to make a positive impact through their businesses. In October, UBS showcased its own efforts in this area at a conference, as reported here.

According to a recent survey of US asset managers by Cerulli Associates, the analytics firm, a rising percentage of asset managers look at environmental, social and governance factors alongside more traditional financial tests to identify opportunities and risks. And a recent report by Boston Consulting Group and MITSloan Management Review found that investments that deliver financial results are closely correlated with those that are deemed sustainable (Investing For A Sustainable Future, 11 May 2016). Separately, a study by Barclays found that investment-grade bonds with higher ESG scores outperformed those with low ESG scores between 2007 and 2015 (source: MSCI). Impact investing has a way to go in terms of size, but the amounts are already large. There are $60 billion of impact investing assets under management, and $12.2 billion of fresh investment was expected to be put in place last year, according to the Global Impact Investing Network, a forum for the sector. One forecast has impact investing AuM topping $3 trillion over the next decade.