BNP Paribas is banking on environmental responsibility movement

The majority of Americans want to invest in environmental sustainability. Eighty-five percent of Americans and 95% of millennials say they are interested in sustainable investment, according to Arnaud Auger, vice president of BNP Paribas and the deputy head of the innovation lab of BNP Paribas in San Francisco. [caption id="attachment_220216" align="alignright" width="300"] Image by CanStock[/caption] “Where you put your money matters,” Auger said. “You decided to drive a Tesla or you go vegan, you do anything you can — at the same time, all your investments, all your 401K is actually financing everything that destroyed the planet. You're inconsistent, and actually, you may do better than this.” At the Money 20/20 conference last week, Auger spoke about how the $2.9 trillion French bank has partnered with forward-thinking fintechs to offer products that invest in sustainability while urging other financial institutions to follow in the bank's footsteps. BNP Paribas also operates $96 billion Bank of the West, a regional bank based in San Francisco that in 2019 launched its first fintech partnership with OpenInvest, an environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investing solution that builds portfolios using values-based metrics. That partnership allowed the wealth management division of the Bank of the West to offer value-aligned investment “based on the specific criteria” that matter to customers, Auger said. JP Morgan acquired OpenInvest in June, but Auger did not address whether that buyout would impact the bank’s offering. BNP Paribas has also partnered with Moody’s Paris-based Vigeo Eiris (VE), a global provider of ESG research and services in a partnership that enabled the bank to provide daily information on the environmental impact of customers’ card transactions, Auger said. “When you see all your transactions from your card, we let our users, consumers, realize the impact of each of the transaction,” he said. “We have an algorithm to measure the carbon footprint of every expense and to give you a sense of where you actually have an impact.” As part of that service, the bank also offers customers tips for reducing their impact — and explains how bank services can help them achieve those goals. “We also offer discounted windows, if you realize yes, maybe will be better for the planet to have an electric car, to have like solar panels on the roof, or to optimize energy consumption in your home, maybe you can have a loan for that,” Auger said. “And we're happy to provide it to our customers. We track, measure, reduce [and offer] refinance solutions to help you reduce and … also offset your carbon emissions.” Another BNP Paribas partnership with a think tank helps customers offset the carbon footprint of their purchases by financing green organizations, such as the Tree Foundation , he said. Finally, the Bank of the West has launched a checking account that donates 1% of the revenue from the account to 1% for the Planet , an organization that pairs businesses with approved environmental nonprofits. “We do that at no cost to you because again, it's sustainable finance — you have to be environment, environmental, really good, but you also have to be affordable,” Auger said. “That's really key. If saving the planet is a luxury, nobody will do it.”

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BNP Paribas is banking on environmental responsibility movement

The French bank leveraged fintech partnerships to grow ESG offerings

Stablecoin risk spurs U.S. agencies to seek power to crack down

API-based solutions aim to accelerate ‘broken’ processes at FIs

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