CSRD som signal: Hållbarhetsredovisningens betydelse i bankernas kreditbedömning : En kvalitativ studie om bankens perspektiv på CSRD

As environmental and sustainability issues have gained increasing importance, the financial sector has also been increasingly affected, especially the banking sector. It is no longer a question of whether banks should address these issues, but rather how this should be done, which standards should be implemented, and how compliance can be ensured. In connection with this, voluntary guidelines on sustainability reporting have evolved into regulated requirements, which further places new expectations on companies. This study aims to investigate how sustainability reporting affects banks' decisions regarding credit granting, with a focus on the new EU directive - Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). At the same time, the study highlights which aspects of sustainability reporting banks perceive as most relevant in the credit granting process. For a greater understanding of the subject, the study is theoretically based on the signaling theory and the 5C model. Through these theories, a holistic picture is created of how banks interpret and assess information when granting credit, as it creates a deeper understanding of how banks interpret sustainability information as signals. The signals are based on the company's responsibility, long-term stability, and repayment capacity. In addition, the signal theory and the 5C model contribute to making the analysis theoretically anchored, while at the same time structuring the interview questions and filling the research gap. The study is based on a qualitative and deductive research design, where the empirical data have been collected through 10 semi-structured interviews with the 5 largest banks in Sweden: Swedbank, Nordea, Handelsbanken, SEB and Danske Bank. For a broader empirical basis, the respondents in the study have varied experience and expertise in both banking and sustainability work, which means increased variation in answers, while at the same time strengthening the validity of the study. The problem discussion illustrates how the information asymmetry between bank and company can be reduced, but that previous standardization is lacking in comparisons and risk assessment. With the new EU directive - CSRD, reporting is expected to create better structure, comparability and reliability and thus strengthen the connection between sustainability and lending. The study concludes that sustainability reporting has gained an increasingly prominent role in credit assessment, with ESG aspects receiving varying weight. Despite this, it is described that a uniform reporting structure is still lacking, which creates challenges, while the conclusion suggests that the CSRD is still in a transitional phase, leaving room for further interpretation and analysis.