Injecting climate finance into SME lending in Germany: Opportunities for and limitations of regional savings and cooperative Banks

IF 2.4 Q2 ECONOMICS
Franz Flögel, Philipp Schepelmann, Hans-Martin Zademach, Michael Zörner
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Abstract

Abstract Although small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute considerably to Germany’s carbon emissions, regional savings and cooperative banks − SMEs’ most important financiers − hardly consider this aspect in lending to these businesses. However, given Germany’s commitment to climate neutrality by 2045, suitable approaches for injecting climate finance into these SME lending processes are greatly required. Against this background, the paper at hand aims to introduce the specific case of regional banks into the debate on green finance and green banking and suggest future research in this context. In discussing the state of research on the peculiarities of regional savings and cooperative banks, we outline the resulting opportunities and limitations for climate impact assessments in SME lending. We argue that while the dual bottom-line orientation of regional banks in Germany precludes them from applying simple positive or negative screenings, their in-depth knowledge about local clients and circumstances enables them to be active and engaging partners for the green transformation of SMEs. Nonetheless, we explain why developing solutions to utilise this knowledge for climate finance by integrating climate impact assessments into routine lending processes remains a particularly challenging task.
向德国中小企业贷款注入气候融资:区域储蓄与合作银行的机遇与局限
尽管中小企业对德国的碳排放贡献很大,但作为中小企业最重要的融资人,地区储蓄银行和合作银行在向这些企业提供贷款时几乎没有考虑到这一点。然而,鉴于德国承诺到2045年实现气候中和,为这些中小企业贷款过程注入气候融资的合适方法是非常必要的。在此背景下,本文旨在将区域银行的具体案例引入到关于绿色金融和绿色银行的辩论中,并提出在此背景下的未来研究建议。在讨论区域储蓄和合作银行特殊性的研究现状时,我们概述了中小企业贷款中气候影响评估的机会和限制。我们认为,虽然德国地区银行的双重底线取向使它们无法应用简单的积极或消极筛选,但它们对当地客户和环境的深入了解使它们能够成为中小企业绿色转型的积极和有吸引力的合作伙伴。尽管如此,我们解释了为什么通过将气候影响评估纳入常规贷款流程来开发利用气候融资知识的解决方案仍然是一项特别具有挑战性的任务。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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CiteScore
3.60
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