VIDEO | How CaixaBank is supporting ESG-led trade finance across regions - Trade Treasury Payments

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VIDEO | How CaixaBank is supporting ESG-led trade finance across regions

At the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 2025 Annual Meeting and Business Forum in London, Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) spoke with Pablo Pérez-Montero, Global Head of Sustainable Finance Advisory at CaixaBank CIB (Corporate & Investment Banking), to discuss the bank’s growing role in ESG-led trade finance across global markets.

Pérez-Montero said, “From the very beginning, sustainability has been part of CaixaBank’s DNA. Our main shareholders is “la Caixa” Foundation, one of the major European foundations, and that social mandate continues to guide our strategy.”

That strategy includes an ambitious new target: €100 billion in sustainable finance over the next three years, following a strong 2024 where the bank exceeded its own performance benchmarks. Trade finance is central to delivering on that ambition.

Pérez-Montero said, “Trade finance is one of our most relevant sectors within CIB. We’ve built strong relationships with multilaterals and grown our trade loan activity significantly over the last two years. It’s an area we will continue to scale.”

The regulatory and market environment is pushing sustainability higher up the agenda for banks and corporates alike and momentum is building globally both in terms of capital deployed and in efforts to harmonise standards.

Pérez-Montero said, “Organisations like the International Chamber of Commerce and others are working to standardise ESG-linked products and promote best practices. That’s essential to make these solutions more accessible, particularly in geographies facing the greatest vulnerability.”

Supply chains, in particular, are seen as a major opportunity area for linking sustainability goals with trade finance. Market demand for ESG-aligned supply chain finance has grown which is prompting CaixaBank to invest in product development tailored to those needs.

However, structural barriers remain. Chief among them is a lack of standardisation in ESG frameworks. While markets like bonds and syndicated loans have begun to converge around ICMA or LMA principles, trade finance still lacks the same level of consensus.

Pérez-Montero said, “There is a clear need for homogeneity across market structures. Without that, it’s harder to scale ESG products efficiently or ensure credibility across different jurisdictions.”

Looking ahead, there is a need to bridge political goals with real-world impact but the challenge is aligning ESG ambitions with the practical realities on the ground, particularly in developing economies and sectors where infrastructure and energy investments are still critical to long-term sustainability outcomes.

Pérez-Montero said, “We need to move beyond flexibility and focus on real, measurable impact. That means supporting the sectors and countries that are still building the foundations for sustainable development.”

For CaixaBank, ESG and trade finance are not separate priorities, but two sides of the same coin. And with momentum growing across regions, the institution is keen to help clients embed sustainability deeper into the flow of global trade.