Relationships - Banco Itaú

Corporate Governance
• Governance Structures
• Transparency in Reporting
• Socio-environmental Risk
• Crisis Management
• Ethics Management
Socio-environmental analysis categories, by risk potential
A-
B-
A+
B+
C
High potential for significant socio-environmental impact.
Low socio-environmental risk management capacity
Medium potential for significant socio-environmental impact
Low socio-environmental risk management capacity
High potential for significant environmental impact
Company capable of managing socio-environmental risks
Medium potential for significant socio-environmental impact
Company capable of managing socio-environmental risks
Low potential for significant socio-environmental impact
High
Medium
Low
Environmental Risk Policy
In addition to commitments taken on by
joining the Equator Principles in 2007, we
have established a Corporate Credit Socioenvironmental
Risk Policy. This initiative
reaffirms our strategy of integrating social
and environmental criteria into the credit
decision-making process. In applying the
policy we seek to evaluate the socioenvironmental
risk of project funding and
of the customers’ activities, in this case by
analyzing their socio-environmental risk
management capability.
In 2009, during the integration activities,
we continued to consolidate our Corporate
Credit Socio-environmental Risk Policy.
This process began in December 2007
with a unique socio-environmental
risk assessment methodology, whose
unique scope was the result of extensive
consultation with some of our strategic
relationship groups, similar to international
standard AA1000. The policy’s main
objectives are:
• establish guidelines and tools to assess
socio-environmental risks in corporate credit
risk analysis;
• give internal support to sustainable
development actions and programs and
provide guidelines for training professionals
from the business and corporate credit
areas; and
• encourage corporate clients to improve their
socio-environmental practices.
Currently, Itaú Unibanco and Itaú BBA also
develop specific guidelines to evaluate certain
sectors. One example is the housing sector,
which already has a sector-specific socioenvironmental
policy, established in late 2009
for the mortgage loan review process for
commercial banking customers (read more
about the subject in the Business/Mortgage
section of this Report).
The Policy in Practice
The Corporate Credit Socio-environmental Risk
Policy began in 2007, and was expected to be
implemented within two years to provide socioenvironmental
risk analysis of commercial loans
of over R$5 million. This objective was achieved
in 2009, and the socio-environmental risk analysis
process and tools for commercial loans are now in
operation. The procedures include two separate
stages: (1) classification of a sector socioenvironmental
risk (High, Medium and Low
risk - A, B, C); and (2) individualized analysis of
those clients in high or medium (A and B) socioenvironmental
risk classes, involving financing
of $5 million or more.
The continuous improvement of the
application process for this policy is a strategic
concern at Itaú Unibanco. We have made
investments in organizing the structure of the
area in charge and in technology, with a view
to improving the analysis tools to make the
process faster and easier.
In 2009 we analyzed middle market customers
(medium-sized companies) in the portfolio,
using the criteria set by the policy. Every
customer involved with financing equal to
or higher than R$5 million received a sector
socio-environmental risk classification of A,
B or C, while eligible candidates (classes A
and B), which represent 60% of this group,
underwent the review process. During the
year, 2,046 socio-environmental technical
statements were issued – 1,933 in favour and
113 against. Of these, 13 were considered
favourable after clarifications provided
40 Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.