The Impact of Sustainable Investment on Banks’ International Competitiveness

Student: Morozova Anna

Faculty: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Educational Programme: World Economy (Bachelor)

Final Grade: 7

Year of Graduation: 2017

Key words: socially responsible investment (SRI), responsible finance, sustainability, international banks, corporate social responsibility (CSR) This Bachelor thesis is devoted to the analysis of how socially responsible investment practices influence the level of banks' competitiveness on the international market. This topic has recently attracted attention of investment society and has outgrown into the surge of scholarly interest. The goals of the paper include analysis of SRI volumes of five largest international banks, overview and evaluation of their environmental and social projects, investigation of sustainable indices profitability as well as conducting research of Russian SRI market and analyzing Russian banks' contribution to national responsible finance volumes. The aim of the thesis is testing the hypothesis that involvement in SRI has a positive impact on the banks' competitiveness on the international market. This thesis follows the following structure: introduction, main part consisting of 3 chapters, conclusion, bibliography and appendices. The first chapter corresponds to theoretical overview, analysis of the SRI market dynamics, current tendencies and the description of specific regional features of carrying out responsible projects. The second chapter relates to the analysis of concrete examples of SRI projects implemented by leading international banks. In addition, the profitability of indices of sustainable development is valued and its comparison with stock indices is made. The third chapter highlights behaviour of Russian banking sector in SRI.

Full text (added May 11, 2017)

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