Sustainability pressures in banking are intensifying — even as ESG faces global pushback.

In this episode, Heike Schmitz sits down with Ed Woolcock, Co‑Head of Energy Transition and Sustainability at Marsh Risk Consulting, to unpack why ESG‑related challenges continue to escalate across the banking sector.

Drawing on insights from the Global Bank Review 2025, they explore how modern banks are navigating an operating environment defined by persistent complexity. From geopolitical fragmentation to rapid technological change and evolving workforce expectations, financial institutions increasingly find themselves at the centre of conflicting demands.

A key theme of the discussion is how companies — and by extension, their banks — are being squeezed between diverging geopolitical priorities and mounting sustainability‑related risks. Ed and Heike examine the crucial role regulation may play in helping organisations manage these pressures, and why early recognition of sustainability‑driven risk trends is becoming a critical success factor for banks.

The episode also connects to a wider article series produced by colleagues globally, which outlines why sustainability has shifted from a compliance exercise to a strategic imperative for banking operations.

Read the full article:

https://www.hsfkramer.com/insights/reports/2025/global-bank-review-2025/embedding-sustainability-into-banking-operations

Read the Marsh report here: https://www.marsh.com/en/risks/climate-change-sustainability/insights/future-issb-sustainability-reporting.html

Speakers: Heike Schmitz, Partner & Co Head of ESG EMEA at HSF Kramer

Ed Woolcock, Co-Head Energy Transition & Sustainability of Marsh Risk Consulting