Webinar replay: ESG risk integration in lending under CRD VI and the EBA Guidelines

Webinar replay: ESG risk integration in lending under CRD VI and the EBA Guidelines

ESG risk integration in lending is no longer a theoretical sustainability topic. With CRD VI and the EBA Guidelines, banks are expected to identify, measure, manage and monitor ESG risks as part of their credit and risk processes. The challenge is that many organisations still struggle to translate ESG risk into something that credit teams, risk functions and relationship managers can use in practice.

This webinar replay addresses exactly that challenge.

From sustainability language to credit relevance

In this session, Jørund Buen, Dag A.D. Messelt and Patrik Dahlén discuss how banks can move from broad sustainability language to practical ESG risk integration in lending activity. The discussion focuses on the gap many banks experience between regulatory expectations and day-to-day credit work: how to identify relevant ESG risks, how to assess their financial materiality, how to measure them in a way that supports credit decisions, and how to make the process understandable for both sustainability specialists and credit professionals.

ESG risk must speak the language of banking

A key theme is the need to translate ESG risk into the language of banking. ESG risk does not become useful simply because it is labelled high, medium or low. For lending activity, the important questions are different: How can the risk affect repayment capacity? Could it influence probability of default, loss given default, collateral values, margins, covenants or sector limits? What is the time horizon? What evidence is needed? And how can banks build a process that is structured enough to satisfy regulatory expectations, while still being practical enough to use in real credit decisions?

Why ESG risk integration often gets stuck

The webinar also explores why ESG risk integration often gets stuck inside organisations. Sustainability teams may understand the regulatory direction, but credit and risk teams may not always see how ESG risk connects to their own work. At the same time, many ESG assessments remain too generic, too qualitative or too disconnected from financial consequences. The result is often a process that looks acceptable on paper, but does not meaningfully support lending decisions.

Practical insights from banking, asset management and ESG risk research

Drawing on experience from banking, asset management, ESG risk research, sustainability strategy and EU sustainable finance regulation, the presenters discuss how this can be improved. The conversation covers practical issues such as materiality, sector exposure, data limitations, client dialogue, portfolio-level risk, credit process design and the role of internal methodology. It also highlights the importance of building ESG risk frameworks that are explainable, proportionate and relevant to the actual lending activity of the bank.

Who should watch the replay?

This replay is relevant for banks, credit institutions and financial-sector professionals working with ESG risk, sustainability risk, corporate lending, credit analysis, risk management, regulatory implementation or portfolio monitoring. It is particularly useful for organisations that are now trying to operationalise the EBA Guidelines and need to bridge the gap between sustainability expertise and credit decision-making.

Register to access the replay

Register to access the replay and hear Jørund Buen, Dag A.D. Messelt and Patrik Dahlén discuss how banks can succeed with ESG risk integration in lending — not as a reporting exercise, but as a practical part of modern credit risk management.