U.S. Bank will provide ESG Solutions to its Global Fund Services clients

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank has announced it will provide environmental, social and governance (ESG) data solutions to its Global Fund Services (GFS) clients.

U.S. Bank will use Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company and provider of ESG research and ratings, to offer independent ESG analysis and reporting services.

Through the partnership, which sees U.S. Bank integrate Sustainalytics’ research and ratings to support portfolio analysis, U.S. Bank clients will have access to a range of sustainable investment data points.

The bank confirmed it intends to use Sustainalytics’ ESG research and ratings to ensure that qualifying EU depositary clients comply with the requirements of the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Breda Sullivan, head of depositary services Europe at U.S. Bank, said: “New regulatory requirements often bring with them some degree of uncertainty about how to meet the requirements.

“U.S. Bank brings a wealth of resources and industry expertise that not every fund service provider can claim. We’re excited to work with Sustainalytics to offer this new level of customized oversight to clients with sustainable investment strategies.”

In using Sustainalytics, which has 500 in-house research analysts, to implement ESG investment strategies, U.S. Bank’s Global Fund Services joins U.S. Bank Asset Management, an indirect subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp. As a result U.S. Bank clients will have access to a data archive covering 15,000 companies.

Financial institutions are increasingly prioritising ESG offerings for their clients, with Fidelity, Amundi US and Neuberger Berman all recently expanding their sustainable investment offerings.

Last month, Fidelity launched four new ESG-themed products, including three mutual funds, while Amundi renamed and repositioned its Pioneer Global Equity Fund to the Pioneer Global Sustainable Equity Fund.