CUSTOMER STORIES
Integrating ESG in Digital Lending strategies
A case study of a successful ESG Integration into Fidelity Bank's Lending Strategy
Background
Fidelity Bank, established in 1988, has grown to become one of the largest financial institutions in Africa. It has carved a niche for itself as a leading bank in corporate lending, offering tailored financial solutions to businesses of all sizes. Fidelity’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) is unparalleled, earning the reputation as one of the most engaged banks in CSR activities in Nigeria. It has taken significant initiatives to integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations into its lending. This initiative reflects the bank’s forward-thinking ethos and its dedication to sustainable and responsible banking practices, ensuring that its financial activities contribute to a more sustainable future.
Key Challenges
As part of Fidelity Bank’s ESG Integration into their lending strategy, they sought to address the following challenges:
/
Complexity of ESG Data
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) data encompasses a wide range of variables, making it challenging to standardize and integrate into existing systems.
/
Handling large volumes of ESG Data
The bank had to process and analyze vast amounts of ESG data, which was time-consuming and required significant computational resources.
/
Managing and tracking ESG requests
Fidelity bank needed a robust system to manage and track numerous ESG-related requests efficiently to ensure compliance and informed decision-making.
How Axe Finance Effectively Tackled These Challenges
1800
Users
250
Branches
99.5
Automatic screening & processing of ESG checks
Better and quick high-level screening for ESG
The implementation resulted in better and quicker high-level screening for ESG factors, significantly reducing the time required for initial assessments.
Business-Segment oriented check lists by client segment
Customized checklists were developed for different business segments. These checklists helped ensure that all relevant ESG criteria were considered for each client segment, providing a tailored approach to ESG evaluation.
Automated due diligence for Lending decisions
The implementation resulted in better and quicker high-level screening for ESG factors, significantly reducing the time required for initial assessments.
Data integration and management
Axe Finance deployed its sophisticated data management tools to integrate ESG data seamlessly into Fidelity Bank’s existing systems. This involved standardizing diverse data formats and ensuring data integrity across all platforms for well-informed lending decisions.
Testimonials
The use of ACP from Axe Finance has been a good success story for us”
Dr. Tonna Ezema, Green Finance & Climate Risk Officer at Fidelity Bank said:
For us at Fidelity Bank, the use of ACP has been a good success story for us. It has allowed us to make better and more informed ESG decisions. We have been able to handle more volume of requests. We have also been able to meet all regulation requirements with the integrated system.”
