Positive sustainable development has become essential to long-term growth for clients across the financial spectrum, and RBI is leveraging its experience to deliver integrated sustainable finance solutions and advisory services to help achieve sustainability goals. The range of services is proof – from ESG-related transactions such as issuing green bonds, to calculating the carbon footprint of individuals in many countries, to rolling out ESG policies and creating sectoral strategies, to developing ESG scoring models to assess risks.
“For RBI, sustainable finance is a strategic priority for all client segments, including private individuals, small and large corporates, financial institutions and sovereigns,” said Ecker. “It’s all about aligning our business with environmental and social commitments while helping our clients make their transitions.”
The bank is now working on its newly developed transition policy to reduce financed emissions progressively until 2030.
Far-reaching in sustainable finance
The key goal for RBI’s sustainable finance solutions is to combine financial health with climate action to help customers build a better future.
More specifically, for corporate and institutional clients, RBI’s advisory services identify the most suitable sustainable financing instruments as well as assist in improving ESG performance and ratings. The outcome is a mix of green, social, sustainable or ESG KPI-linked bonds, loans and “Schuldschein” loans
When it comes to retail clients, RBI’s climate and environmental business strategy is focused on providing solutions that support both financial well-being and a more sustainable lifestyle.
RaiCare is a case in point. It helps customers manage their finances better by tracking income and spending, helping prepare for unexpected expenses and predicting future financial trends – all with monthly reports to keep on track. Further, the bank integrates a carbon footprint tool into its clients’ daily banking activities to give a clear overview of their CO2 emissions.
A sustainable finance pioneer
A notable role for the bank’s green and social bonds is directly aligning sustainability with business benefits.
“We are proud to be pioneers in green bond issuance for both institutional and private investors in Austria,” added Ecker. This began with RBI’s green bond issuance programme in 2018 to promote sustainable lending in Austria. In 2023, the bank expanded its efforts by establishing a sustainability bond framework, allowing it to issue green, social and sustainability bonds.
Its latest innovation from Raiffeisen Research is its ESG Data Solution, a platform aiming to turn complexity into clarity by giving clients the insights they need to make confident, sustainable decisions. What began as a project to plug the gap of missing and inconsistent data has evolved into a comprehensive ESG database – including 16 million data points, 13,000 companies, more than 35,000 bonds and over 180 countries.
This AWS-powered platform now serves as the backbone for ESG analysis across countries, sectors and individual securities, both equities and bonds. It is also a flexible tool that can be adapted to any type of client.
Extending its reach, RBI has also played a key role in developing the sustainable bond markets across the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It has supported local banks in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia in launching their first green and/or sustainability bonds.
Meanwhile, RBI also maps out the green, social and sustainability bond issuance for clients. It did this on the inaugural sustainability bond of the federal state of Lower Austria in 2024, acting as ESG coordinator and bookrunner for this first issuance of its type by any federal state in the country. In 2025, RBI acted as ESG Structuring Agent for the Czech Republic’s pioneering Social Finance Framework — the first of its kind among European sovereigns — and thereby supported the sovereign in preparing for potential social bond issuances.
Making its ESG expertise count
One key element to RBI’s sustainable finance success is the diversity and experience of its team, reflecting 14 cultural backgrounds, 17 languages and collective knowledge across topics. The bank also launched the ESG Ambassador Network in 2019 to foster sustainability expertise within network banks in the CEE region.
Awards have followed, recognising RBI’s ongoing commitment to sustainable finance. In 2025, these included five Sustainable Finance Awards from Global Finance.
Building on the sustainable finance story
While sustainable finance is here to stay, for the benefit of all stakeholders, a major challenge lies in the substantial investment required for the transition. “Even then, this does not guarantee higher income or lower costs, which are usually essential for a positive business case,” explained Ecker.
Yet motivation is strong. With ESG risks and the overall sustainability performance of borrowers and issuers becoming more important than ever, transition finance is a key factor, he added, especially for high-emitting sectors that need support in their decarbonisation.
At the same time, Europe’s Clean Industrial Deal, alongside similar efforts from other countries, is expected to further accelerate this shift. “This calls for capital that drives climate action and social impact,” said Ecker.
You want to explore how Raiffeisen Research‘s ESG data platform can empower your green transformation? Find out more here.
