Introduction

Santander withdraws appointment of chief accounting officer after fraud investigation of Brazilian executive

Banco Santander has rescinded its planned appointment of Alexsandro Broedel Lopes as group chief accounting officer following the launch of a police investigation in Brazil into alleged fraud during his period working for Itaú, the country's largest bank. Manuel Preto, currently deputy CEO of Santander's Portuguese business, will instead become chief accounting officer at the end of July. Broedel, whom Itaú has accused of misappropriating funds through an arrangement with an external consultant, remains a Santander employee.

Best source: Bloomberg (subscription required)

UK’s Financial Reporting Council drops environment terminology from revised stewardship code

The UK's Financial Reporting Council has published a revised stewardship code that no longer contains explicit references to sustainability benefits to the environment and society. The 2020 version of the code defined stewardship as the responsible allocation, management and oversight of capital to create long-term value for clients and beneficiaries, and sustainable value for the economy, the environment and society. The new version only mentions clients and beneficiaries, prompting criticism by ESG and stewardship consultancy Minerva Analytics and the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association.

Best source: Net Zero Investor

US Federal Reserve lifts asset cap imposed on Wells Fargo in 2018 after completion of governance reforms

Wells Fargo has been released from a $1.95trn asset cap imposed by the US Federal Reserve since 2018 after the bank made significant improvements to its governance and risk management. The Fed's unanimous decision to lift the restriction, introduced following the discovery that bank employees had created millions of unauthorised customer accounts in order to meet performance targets, will allow the bank to expand operations in areas including credit cards, wealth management and commercial banking. The central bank says Wells Fargo has made substantial progress in addressing the issues uncovered, including improving its governance structures and risk management controls and completing a third-party review of its changes. The bank has hired around 10,000 employees in risk and control functions to comply with the regulatory orders, spending an additional $2.5bn in those areas last year.

Best source: Wall Street Journal (subscription required)

See also: Reuters (subscription required)

See also: Bloomberg (subscription required)

See also: CNBC

TotalEnergies faces court case by environmental groups alleging greenwashing over carbon-neutrality target

A French civil court has begun hearing a case brought by Greenpeace and two other environmental groups, claiming that fossil fuel group TotalEnergies has made misleading statements that it could achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while continuing oil and gas production. The groups accuse the French company of greenwashing and misleading commercial practices by claiming in advertising that gas is the fossil fuel with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. The plaintiffs say they have identified 40 'false advertisements' that do not accurately reflect the reality of TotalEnergies' operations and are demanding that the court order an immediate stop to such misleading commercial practices.

Best source: AFP

ESG data standardisation boosts efforts to improve transparency on sustainability in private equity

Institutional investors are increasingly applying environmental, social impact and governance criteria to private equity portfolios, but a lack of standardised data and reporting continues to hinder measurement of effective progress. Industry initiatives such as the ESG Data Convergence Initiative, which is backed by leading managers and investors, seek to harmonise sustainability metrics and improve transparency across the sector. As sustainable investing becomes integral to risk management and value creation, greater collaboration within the industry is seeking to establish consistent benchmarks and enable investors to assess the ESG performance of private equity assets more accurately.

Best source: Portfolio Institutionell (in German)

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