Sustainable banking products

Sustainable actions are important in all business operations

The greatest leverage for helping shape sustainable development is in the area of investments, DekaBank’s core business. Here, our goal is to offer our customers sustainable investment products, whilst also striving to influence our business partners in such a way as to minimise any adverse impact on the environment and society. Compliance with sustainability aspects has now become an established benchmark in Asset Management.

Asset management in securities

Sustainability criteria have become decisive factors with regard to the selection of attractive assets for Deka investment funds; criteria that not only meet our requirements for social responsibility, but also deliver economic benefits. In addition, we offer our customers funds that meet strict sustainability requirements, where the investors' capital is invested either in accordance with specific sustainability criteria or is invested exclusively in companies in the environmental technology and renewable energy sectors. In 2010, we raised the volume of these funds by 82% to €1.167bn, as institutional investors in particular are increasingly looking for a return that is both economically attractive and ethically acceptable. Our overarching aim is to strengthen the acceptance of sustainable financial products, and together with the savings banks we supported the “Climate and Finance” campaign week initiated by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) as part of a nationwide campaign.

Asset management in real estate

Both our tenants and our investors benefit in our real estate business. That is why DekaBank is increasingly adopting the "green building" approach. The term “green building” describes buildings that are energy efficient and therefore ecofriendly, and which are designed, built and operated in conformity with health standards. The term is often used for buildings that in addition to ecological and social criteria, also meet economic requirements and thus minimise the lifecycle costs for the owners. All buildings held in our fund portfolios now have a building profile, which shows all the environmentally relevant building data.

 Asset management-related lending business

Transactions that do not meet our sustainability criteria are considered to be of higher risk and undesirable. The following transactions are subjected to a further, more in-depth audit:

• Financing related to arms transactions to countries or recipients in areas of conflict outside NATO.
• Financing which gives rise per se to significant risks for the environment.
• Financing of projects which do not meet the requirements of the "Equator Principles".