“Sustainability is all about action.” This statement summarises the Savings Bank’s new sustainable lending product, the energy loan, which was launched in May 2023.
According to a survey commissioned by Yle in March 2023, as much as over half of the 1.2 million detached houses in Finland will need to be renovated if the EU’s planned Energy Efficiency Directive is implemented in its current form. The sustainability survey we conducted in spring 2023 also highlighted the need for sustainable services that would help private households contribute to the joint effort for the environment.
The environment and climate is one of the Savings Banks Group’s sustainability themes. We also want to respond to our customers’ needs and encourage Finns to make changes to improve energy efficiency now rather than wait until they are forced to do so.
The Savings Bank energy loan can be granted for an energy renovation of a residence or holiday home. An energy renovation can include changing the building’s heating system (from oil heating to geothermal heating, for example), replacing windows and external doors with more energy-efficient products, installing solar panels or adding more insulation. An energy renovation leads to savings in heating costs during the cold season and cooling costs in the summer, and it supports Finland, as a whole, in the green transition.
Savings Bank funds offer plenty of choice and alternatives to suit a wide range of investment and saving needs. Savings Bank funds have also been recognised, even internationally. The most recent example of this is Säästöpankki Lyhytkorko winning the Lipper Fund Award 2023 for the best Nordic fund in the short-term fixed income fund category (3, 5 and 10 years). This was the third consecutive recognition of Säästöpankki Lyhytkorko by the Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards.
All of our funds are aligned with our Responsible Investment Policy. We take environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into account in our investment activities. We also monitor our direct investments with regard to compliance with international agreements and norms. We participate in various cooperation initiatives aimed at enhancing responsible investment. We also do not make direct investments in certain industries, such as the arms industry and the tobacco industry. We engage in transparent communications on the responsibility of our funds; for example, in the form of a sustainability report.
For Savings Banks’ Asset Management, responsible investing means more than risk management – it also means business opportunities. Our aim for responsible investing is to achieve the highest possible returns at the selected level of risk. We believe that companies that operate responsibly will deliver better long-term returns than companies that do not operate sustainably. Taking ESG factors into account promotes risk management related to investment targets. They also enable us to promote the shift towards greater sustainability in business and in society as a whole.
The competitive advantages of Savings Banks’ Asset Management with regard to responsibility include its pioneering role, particularly in impact investing through the Säästöpankki Ympäristö special investment fund, our experienced portfolio management team, our ESG expertise in all of the asset classes we invest in, and high-quality ESG analysis tools. We want to be an asset management company that operates transparently and is valued for its responsibility. Responsibility is an integral part of our investment process. We adhere to our Responsible Investment Policy and ownership steering policy in all of the investment activities of Savings Banks’ Asset Management. Implementation takes place through different approaches and varies slightly between asset classes.
In Savings Banks’ Asset Management, applying the principles of responsible investment has been directly integrated into the investment process. Designated portfolio managers are responsible not only for the return and risks of their portfolios, but also the application of the principles of responsible investment in their practical investment activities. The person charged with the coordination of ESG issues monitors the realisation of responsibility, produces internal analyses, takes responsibility for reporting and continuously develops our responsible investment practices. They also promote the responsibility of investment operations in cooperation with other investors, for example, through stakeholder meetings and networks.
The Morningstar Sustainability Rating illustrates the sustainability of the companies owned by a fund relative to the holdings of other funds in the peer group defined by Morningstar. The peer group may differ from the benchmark group used in comparing the returns of funds. Examples of our funds that perform well in the Morningstar Sustainability Rating:
Säästöpankki Kotimaa is an equity fund that primarily invests in Finnish equities.
Säästöpankki Kantti is a hybrid fund that allocates a minimum of 70% of its assets to equity investments. The remainder is allocated to fixed income funds, interest-linked instruments and cash.
Säästöpankki Osake Maailma invests its assets globally in the equity markets, mainly in the form of direct equity investments.
*Morningstar Sustainability Rating The scale is 1–5, with 5 being the best rating. The ratings are updated semi-annually.
** The Morningstar® Low Carbon Designation™ is assigned to portfolios that have low carbon-risk scores and low levels of fossil-fuel exposure. The information is updated semiannually.
At the core of the operations of Savings Banks’ Asset Management is the goal of being a long-term financial partner for the customer and to operate with a long-term approach to benefit Finnish savers. Savings Bank funds are managed by Sp-Fund Management Company Ltd.
Refinitiv Lipper is a leading global and independent provider of fund analyses and comparisons. The prestigious Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards are granted annually to the best funds as well as asset and fund management companies around the world. The awards highlight funds and fund companies that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers.
In the annual Customer Index survey of the Data & Marketing Association of Finland (ASML), we were selected as Finland’s most sustainable bank and the third-most sustainable company in the study as a whole. (in 2023)
In 2023, Savings Bank improved its ranking to third place in the banking category in the Sustainable Brand Index, which is the most comprehensive sustainability survey in the Nordic region. The survey respondents rate companies in different sectors based on their perceived sustainability.
Sustainable Brand Index is Europe’s largest brand study on sustainability. The study is conducted in eight countries across Europe. A total of 80,000 consumers were interviewed for the survey to analyse nearly 1,600 different brands. The study has been conducted in Finland since 2013. This year, a total of 12,000 consumers were interviewed on 228 brands.
Source: Sustainable Brand Index 2023
We also performed well in the EPSI Rating Sustainability Index, particularly in the private customer segment, placing third in our industry.
EPSI Rating is the leading independent company in the Nordic region in studying and measuring customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction in companies. EPSI Rating produces and publishes unbiased research and measurement results on non-financial indicators in various industries.
The EPSI Sustainability Index is the result of EPSI’s multi-year academic research, which is why it can be considered to be a continuation of the well-known EPSI Rating model. The Index takes into account the three dimensions of sustainable development: social, financial and environmental. The aim of the EPSI Rating Sustainability Index is for the customer perspective to be given a larger role in the discussion around sustainability.
Source: EPSI-Rating