Responsible Credit and Sustainability in Granting Financing: A Comparative Study of Two Brazilian Financial Institutions

Abstract

The credits released by financial entities are used by borrowers of money for investments and costing in various branches of the economy, such as agriculture, industry, trade and services. One question arises in this context: Is there a concern in offering resources to organizations that are based on a sustainable tripod: economic, social and environmental? To discuss these issues, we examine the assessment criteria of two of the largest banks in Latin America. In the theoretical framework, we have discussed the environmental management system, sustainable business, and responsible credit. The research is descriptive and has qualitative approach. The data were collected from documents released by the banks and handled through content analysis. We show that companies in the study begin to take into account the question of business sustainability when granting credits. We hope that banks require more criteria of environmental protection in their lending activities in the near future. Keywords: Business sustainability, Environment, Granting financing, Responsible credit.