BNP Paribas has appointed Peter Zink Secher to the newly created role of head of ESG ratings advisory EMEA, making the French banking group the latest to bolster its ESG advisory wing.
Zink Secher joins from Nykredit, one of Denmark’s leading financial services providers, and will remain based in the country. He will report to Joe Weaver, head of credit & ESG ratings advisory in London, and Ulrik Ross, CEO of BNP Paribas Group in Denmark.
BNP Paribas said the role was created to “build-out” its services to support the transition toward a sustainable low-carbon economy.
CEO of BNP Paribas Group in Denmark, Ross said: “As one of the largest banks in Europe, we have a responsibility and a strong commitment to enable, support and drive development towards a sustainable net-zero economy. As reporting, regulatory and investor demands for ESG clarity raises, we see ESG Rating Advisory as an important tool to help support and improve the ESG journey for corporates and investors.”
BNP Paribas is the latest in a growing list of global banks to build a dedicated ESG rating advisory department as a direct response to boardroom and C-suite needs. In recent years, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, UBS, Citigroup and others, have created similar ESG deal-making roles in the wake of opportunities within the clean energy transition.
Zink Secher commented: “I am very honored and proud to be joining a global bank with such a strong leadership position in sustainable finance. The ESG Rating Advisory service is a quantitative tool helping companies and investors alike strengthening their ESG journey.”
“It is essentially a ‘What if’ analysis that predicts what specific sustainability actions, disclosures and controversies that will influence a company’s ESG rating. In essence, it is the missing piece that will give Board members and C-suite players a clear factual and tangible ESG roadmap for years to come. Most larger companies already have unsolicited ESG ratings from the ESG agencies, but it is all about how you want to build and improve your ESG identity,” he added.
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