AI and Transition Finance: The Future of Sustainable Banking According to Emirates NBD
Emirates NBD is building a digital spine for sustainable finance. The bank is using AI and automation to process the heavy ESG data load-hundreds of fields across Scope 1, 2, and 3-so teams can focus on decisions, not spreadsheets.
Vijay Bains, Chief Sustainability Officer and Group Head of ESG, is clear: digitisation cuts through noise and avoids wasteful, manual workflows (like printing reports). The goal is simple-clean data in, faster lending and sharper risk control out.
Why digitisation matters for ESG data
ESG reporting pulls in up to 500 data points per client. Manually reconciling that is slow, error-prone, and expensive. Automating collection, validation, and reporting gives consistent outputs, auditability, and scale.
For finance teams, this means fewer one-off models and more systemised reporting templates that feed both regulators and internal risk committees.
Data and lending automation
The bank is partnering with fintechs to accelerate reporting and portfolio analytics. On the lending side, digital tools assess financed emissions to de-risk exposure and tilt capital toward sectors on credible decarbonisation paths.
An AI chatbot on the website now fields roughly 500 sustainability-related queries a month. Beyond instant responses, it produces live demand signals-what clients ask for, where they're stuck, and which products or reports they want next. It works after hours, which matters for cross-time-zone coverage.
Making sense of the ESG "alphabet soup"
There are 600-800 sustainable finance KPIs in play. The team is moving to an AI layer that translates policy and product rules into plain language for relationship managers and customers-what structures apply, which discounts are available, what documentation is needed.
This isn't just about speed. It reduces internal variance in how structures are explained and sold, which protects margin and reputation.
Building for AI responsibly
AI has a real energy footprint. Emirates NBD has stood up a new data centre and is offsetting with nuclear and renewable energy. The signal: scale the compute you need, then neutralise it with credible sources-not claims.
The rise of transition finance
The bank defines sustainable finance broadly: solar and renewables, EVs, and high-efficiency green buildings. Pricing benefits are available for clients who hit KPIs aligned with a net-zero path, supported by advisory where needed.
Green Bonds and sustainable sukuk are expanding, but the next wave is transition finance-capital that helps hard-to-abate sectors (oil and gas, steel, aviation) move in measured steps. Guidance now exists from the ICMA and the LMA to structure credible pathways.
Transition bonds work like Green Bonds but anchor companies to a five-year plan with operational milestones. Expect more Blue Bonds (water and oceans) and Orange Bonds (gender-focused) as portfolios diversify beyond pure green use-of-proceeds.
Short-term ESG, liquidity, and carbon desks
ESG isn't just long-term. Climate volatility is already moving commodity curves-cocoa, oranges, and coffee have all seen weather-linked pressure. In some months, those moves have outperformed gold.
Banks are also tying transition plans to short-term liquidity via sustainability-linked loan updates and revolving credit pricing. Carbon markets are back in focus as desks integrate credible, science-based offsets for clients who hit a reduction ceiling before net zero.
Standards have tightened, which is good. Offsets should give time to decarbonise properly, not act as a permanent substitute.
What finance teams should do now
- Map your ESG data architecture. Standardise Scope 1-3 inputs, automate attestations, and lock audit trails.
- Deploy an AI layer for both clients and RMs. Start with a controlled chatbot tied to approved policies, product rules, and eligibility logic.
- Baseline financed emissions by sector. Tilt exposure toward issuers with credible transition plans and set clear margin ratchets for KPI performance.
- Stand up a transition finance framework. Align with ICMA and LMA guidance, define five-year KPIs, and pre-approve eligible capex.
- Integrate carbon into treasury and trading playbooks. Add offset integrity checks, and hedge climate-linked commodity risk where material.
- Right-size compute for AI. Track PUE, contract renewables, and match model scaling with emissions mitigation.
Upskilling RMs and product teams
If you're equipping frontline teams to use AI for ESG data, client advisory, and product fit, practical training helps. A good starting point is a curated set of finance-focused AI tools and workflows: AI tools for Finance.
Your membership also unlocks:
