Imfino News

London – 20 September 2018 - Fitch Group today announced it has signed the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), underlining its commitment to incorporating environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues into investment practice and developing a more sustainable global financial system.

Paul Taylor, President and CEO of Fitch Group, said: “Sustainability is a core principle for Fitch Group. We recognise the increasing importance being placed on ESG by the investor community and other market participants, and are committed to playing our role in helping to better align investors with the long-term objectives of broader society.”

Today’s announcement follows the recent establishment of a Global Sustainable Finance group at Fitch Group. This newly-formed group is responsible for reviewing how ESG factors are incorporated into the credit rating process, increasing the level of transparency around ESG analysis and the development of products and services to support and meet the growing needs of investors in this sector.

Andrew Steel, Global Head of Sustainable Finance at Fitch Group, said: “We are very pleased to now become a PRI signatory and formally underline our ongoing commitment to increasing and improving the level of transparency around our credit ratings business, Fitch Ratings, to better serve the needs of investors. Global taxonomy surrounding ESG is starting to emerge and we view the UN PRI initiative as a key forum for refining and developing the dialogue between investors and service providers.”

He added: “Investor demand for sustainable investment opportunities and a better understanding of how ESG factors can impact fundamental fixed income credit analysis has increased significantly in recent years. Fitch supports the PRI statement on ESG in credit ratings, and is fully committed to providing investors with the necessary insight and information to make informed decisions.”

“By joining the PRI, Fitch has underscored its commitment to sustainable investing strategies,” said PRI CEO Fiona Reynolds. “Not only are we delighted to welcome them as a signatory, we are also very pleased that they will be formally participating in our ESG in credit ratings initiative, launched in 2016. The addition of Fitch means we will be able to further widen our ongoing dialogue between investors and rating agencies.”