The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) this week announced the appointment of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon as their new chair. He will serve for a two-year term.
Formed at the Paris One Planet Summit in December 2017 by eight central banks and supervisors, the NGFS’s purpose is to help strengthen the global response required to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and to enhance the role of the financial system to manage risks and to mobilize capital for green and low-carbon investments in the broader context of environmentally sustainable development. The NGFS defines and promotes best practices to be implemented within and outside its membership and conducts or commissions analytical work on green finance.
Menon succeeds Frank Elderson, member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, who served as chair since the establishment of the NGFS. Sabine Mauderer, member of the executive board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, will serve as vice-chair.
The NGFS has grown to 105 central bank members and plays a key role in helping to enhance climate and environmental risk management in the financial industry globally. It has develloped best practices for central banks and supervisors to steward the financial sector towards a sustainable economy.
The MAS is one of the eight founding members of the NGFS and has been an active participant across its workstreams, particularly in the areas microprudential and supervision, which provides guidance for supervisors on incorporating climate and environmental risks within their supervisory framework. MAS’ active participation in the NGFS reflects the belief that the financial sector can play a useful role in catalyzing sustainable and green finance, they said in a statement.
“MAS has been a strong advocate of the NGFS,” Menon said. “Strengthening the resilience of the financial sector to environmental risks and promoting green finance to support Asia’s transition to a sustainable economy are high priorities for MAS. We look forward to the opportunity to further support the important work that the NGFS has been doing to advance the goals set under the Paris Agreement.”