Most Powerful Women in Banking: No. 4, Bank of America's Anne Finucane

Vice Chairman, Bank of America and Chairman of the Board, Bank of America Europe

The world was a very different place two years ago when Bank of America first set a goal to finance $300 billion in sustainable and low-carbon activities by 2030.

Since then, regulators in the U.S. and abroad have increasingly sounded the alarm about the risks climate change poses to the financial system. A new, more climate-friendly president took office, pledging to fortify America’s infrastructure against weather-related disasters. And investor interest in banks’ environmental, social and governance goals has only intensified.

All those things led Anne Finucane, vice chairman of Bank of America and chairman of the board of Bank of America Europe, to more than triple the company’s original commitment to $1 trillion. It’s become increasingly clear, she said, that the transition to a low-carbon economy will present myriad business opportunities for the banking industry.

“The financial institution that’s ready for it is going to be the beneficiary of business and I think, continue to be seen as an active and productive member of society,” Finucane told American Banker.

The decision to move more aggressively on sustainable finance goes back to an organizational makeover after the 2008 financial crisis. That’s when the company began to look at social and environmental issues as having real implications for reputation and performance, she said.

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Finucane estimates that over the past year, Bank of America financed $100 billion in environmentally and socially responsible activities.
The $1 trillion commitment will span various sectors across the Charlotte, North Carolina, company’s business and will include solutions such as energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and clean transportation.

Finucane, who will retire at the end of the year, has also helped to steer other ESG efforts at Bank of America, including its recent commitment to advance racial equality. Working with bankers who can use data and analysis to find solutions to complex social issues has been one of the most rewarding aspects of her career, she said.

“I have had the privilege of being involved in a series of movements in our business, ESG and climate financing specifically, which are really satisfying evolutions,” she said