Hållbarhetens roll i kreditgivningen

As global focus on sustainability increases, higher demands are placed on banks to integrate sustainability aspects into their operations. Since banks, through their lending activities, influence how capital is allocated in society, they play an important role in the transition to a more sustainable economy. This study examines how Swedish banks take companies sustainability efforts into account in the credit assessment process and how this affects risk assessment and loan terms. The purpose is to describe and analyze how banks integrate sustainability aspects into their credit processes and to what extent sustainability influences decision-making. The theoretical framework is based on agency theory, stakeholder theory, the ESG framework and previous research on lending, sustainability, and sustainability assessments. The study applies a qualitative method with an abductive approach, where semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine bank employees from seven different Swedish banks. The results show that financial factors remain central in credit assessments, but that sustainability aspects, particularly environmental risks, constitute an integrated part of the assessment. Companies with strong sustainability performance may in some cases receive more favorable loan terms, mainly through lower interest rates or green loans. At the same time, banks work with sustainability issues varies depending on the industry and the type of sustainability factors being assessed and so far the differences in loan terms are still relatively small.