The largest financial institution in Kuwait, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has maintained its position as a constituent of the leading Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) index “FTSE4Good Index Series”, after FTSE Russell’s semi-annual review of the index.
A subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, FTSE Russell’s FTSE4Good Index Series is a key tool in helping investors identify companies and banks that meet globally recognized sustainability standards. NBK is the only bank in Kuwait to be included in this prestigious Index and maintaining the inclusion is a recognition of the bank’s ESG achievements.
The FTSE4Good Index Series, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading ESG indexes, was launched in 2001 to offer investors a benchmark to track the performance of sustainable investment portfolios.
The index is designed to measure the performance of companies demonstrating strong ESG practices, offering investors potential improvements to the risk-reward ratio, whilst maintaining a full allocation to the relevant equity market.
Over past years, NBK has made several accomplishments in its sustainability journey and it aims to continue progress in making ESG standards a basis for dialogue with customers and to embed sustainable finance in all its operations. Furthermore, the bank strives to strengthen its position as a leading provider of sustainable banking services.
Currently, ESG is becoming a top priority across the NBK and for its operations in various markets. In recent years, the bank has expanded its sustainability disclosures and has been issuing a detailed sustainability report since 2017.
NBK is also expected to announce initiatives to better measure ESG impacts, with a key focus on assessing direct and indirect environmental impact, as climate change risks continue to emerge.
For the fifth year in a row, the bank has been issuing a sustainability report highlighting its social, economic and environmental initiatives and the implementation of corporate governance principles in accordance with the standards of Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
The bank’s efforts in this regard were honored by inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index and the Refinitiv AFE Low Carbon Select Index in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), in which NBK ranked first among regionals banks and Kuwaiti companies in terms of the index’s weight.
