Commerzbank includes sustainability information in share votes

Increased interest of institutional equity investors in ESG issues
Cooperation with Arabesque S-Ray Complements Share Voting for Institutional Investors

Starting in November 2019, Commerzbank will publish sustainability ratings in its share votes, which will be delivered in partnership with the data analysis company Arabesque S-Ray GmbH. This means that institutional investors who obtain their equity research from Commerzbank will receive quantitative sustainability scores from Arabesque S-Ray in addition to the fundamental equity ratings prepared by the bank. Arabesque S-Ray evaluates how companies are compliant with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact and delivers a score on financially material environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This information will be published in addition to Commerzbank’s fundamental votes.

"We see an ever-increasing interest from institutional investors in ESG-topics. We are glad that the partnership with Arabesque S-Ray allows us to provide value-added input for our clients in this important area," says Ingo Schachel, Head of Fundamental Equity Research at Commerzbank. "Arabesque S-Ray is an exciting young company in this field. We are pleased to be the first cooperation partner in the field of fundamental equity analysis to establish a long-term partnership with Arabesque S-Ray".

Using ESG big data and machine learning models, Arabesque S-Ray evaluates the sustainability performance of over 7,200 companies globally. The technology systematically combines over 250 ESG metrics with news signals from over 30,000 sources across 170 countries. The quantitative approach of S-Ray enables the user to evaluate the impact of sustainability on a daily basis.

Andreas Feiner, CEO of Arabesque S-Ray GmbH, says: “We are delighted to be partnering with Commerzbank to provide our ESG data analysis and scores as part of its equity research for clients. Demand for sustainability data from institutional investors continues to grow rapidly, leading to a sea-change in ESG practices within portfolio management.”

"We were convinced by the high data and analysis quality of Arabesque S-Ray. We are confident that S-Ray can set a new standard in data quality and analysis methods," continues Ingo Schachel.

Commerzbank's equity research evaluates around 200 German and European equities and reaches numerous institutional investors in Europe and North America. In the Extel surveys of 14,000 fund managers, Commerzbank Research has regularly ranked first or second in the category "Best Brokerage Firm: Germany".

About Commerzbank

Commerzbank is a leading international commercial bank with branches and offices in nearly 50 countries. The Bank’s two business segments – Private and Small Business Customers and Corporate Clients – offer a comprehensive portfolio of financial services precisely tailored to their customers’ needs. Commerzbank transacts approximately 30% of Germany's foreign trade and is the market leader in German corporate banking. The Bank offers its sector expertise to its corporate clients in Germany and abroad and is a leading provider of capital market products. Its subsidiaries, Comdirect in Germany and mBank in Poland, are two of the world’s most innovative online banks. With approximately 800 branches going forward, Commerzbank has one of the densest branch networks in Germany. The Bank serves more than 11 million private and small business customers nationwide and over 70,000 corporate clients, multinationals, financial service providers, and institutional clients worldwide. Its Polish subsidiary mBank S.A. has around 5.6 million private and corporate customers, predominantly in Poland, but also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 2018 Commerzbank generated gross revenues of €8.6 billion with approximately 49,000 employees.