BoE advisor Huw van Steenis appointed UBS’s sustainable finance chief
UBS has appointed Bank of England adviser and former investment banker Huw van Steenis to chair its new sustainable finance committee and take charge of investor relations.
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Van Steenis was appointed as a senior adviser to BoE governor Mark Carney in May 2018, and led the central bank’s June “future of finance” report, which included a section on the threat of climate change to the financial industry.
Before that, the Oxford- and Insead-educated van Steenis was global head of strategy at Schroders and spent 14 years at Morgan Stanley.
He will start his new jobs on 2 September and report to group chief executive Sergio Ermotti and chief financial officer Kirt Gardner, UBS said in a statement.
The bank, Switzerland’s biggest, is increasing its focus on sustainable finance. Its new sustainable finance committee will seek to “ensure that UBS continues to drive innovation and develop expertise and thought leadership on sustainable finance,” the bank said.
It noted that sustainable finance “is increasing in relevance to corporate and private clients, investors and other stakeholders”.
Yet the financial industry has faced criticism from campaigners who say it is deeply intertwined with companies responsible for unsustainable activities such as large-scale pollution.
UBS has a “buy” rating on shares in Shell and BP, for example. It is advising Shell on its proposed takeover of Australian firm ERM Energy, which was launched this week.
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Van Steenis will juggle his climate-focused role with a job as head of UBS’s investor relations team. He will “act as a senior adviser on key topics affecting the future of the industry,” UBS said.