US banking giants had ‘significant’ challenges

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Six US banking giants reported having “significant” challenges when estimating the financial risks from climate change because of a lack of good data, the Federal Reserve (Fed) said on Thursday.

The six large banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, participated in the 2023 pilot conducted by the US central bank in order “to explore the resiliency of their business models to climaterelated financial risks,” the Fed said in a statement.

A summary of the exercise published on Thursday said the banks “reported significant data and modeling challenges,” due in part to “a lack of comprehensive and consistent data” on things like building characteristics and insurance coverage.

“Going forward, participants reported plans to capture additional data from clients, to source data from vendors and to use proxies where necessary,” the Fed report said.

The US central bank stressed that the “exploratory” exercise would not have any consequences for bank capital requirements or lead to any supervisory changes.

Nevertheless, it marks a rare foray into the topic of climate change for the independent US central bank — which has looked to avoid what is still a divisive political issue in the United States.

“We are not, nor do we seek to be, climate policymakers,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a recent speech, adding that the US central bank should avoid “mission creep” and stick closely to its dual mandate from Congress to maintain stable prices and maximize employment.

The six banks, which participated in the 2023 pilot, now “plan to continue to invest in data, models and expertise,” according to the Fed’s summary published on Thursday.

This will allow them “to better identify, estimate and monitor climate-related financial risks through the use of scenario analysis exercises and other tools,” the Fed said.