State Bank of India – Lobbying Governance & Transparency

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Lobbying Governance

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Limited	State Bank of India discloses a governance structure that touches on the alignment of its external engagement with climate objectives but provides only limited detail on how lobbying itself is managed or monitored. It states that “the Bank’s involvement and engagement with policy makers, industry association and knowledge partners on climate change issues will be aligned to the objectives to be fulfilled by its Sustainability and Business responsibility policy,” indicating an intention to keep advocacy consistent with its climate strategy. Oversight of this wider sustainability policy is assigned to named bodies and individuals: “The Policy mandates for a Corporate Centre Sustainability Committee (CCSC) to oversee the implementation of the policy. This committee is headed by a Deputy Managing Director, who is also designated as the Chief Sustainability Officer,” and the Bank further notes that “DGM (Sustainability) will also be responsible for overseeing the implementation and communication of the sustainability strategy to the stakeholders.” However, the evidence does not describe any dedicated mechanisms—such as periodic lobbying reviews, trade-association alignment checks, or board sign-off on advocacy positions—that would demonstrate systematic monitoring or correction of lobbying activities, and the Bank emphasises that, for FY 2021-22, it “has not undertaken any spending towards political campaigns, political organisations, lobbyists or lobbying organisations,” suggesting minimal formal lobbying rather than a defined governance process. Consequently, while the disclosure names responsible parties and makes a general commitment to align engagement with climate policy, it does not reveal a structured process for governing direct or indirect lobbying in practice. View Sources	D

Overall Assessment

Analysis

Score

Limited

State Bank of India discloses a governance structure that touches on the alignment of its external engagement with climate objectives but provides only limited detail on how lobbying itself is managed or monitored. It states that “the Bank’s involvement and engagement with policy makers, industry association and knowledge partners on climate change issues will be aligned to the objectives to be fulfilled by its Sustainability and Business responsibility policy,” indicating an intention to keep advocacy consistent with its climate strategy. Oversight of this wider sustainability policy is assigned to named bodies and individuals: “The Policy mandates for a Corporate Centre Sustainability Committee (CCSC) to oversee the implementation of the policy. This committee is headed by a Deputy Managing Director, who is also designated as the Chief Sustainability Officer,” and the Bank further notes that “DGM (Sustainability) will also be responsible for overseeing the implementation and communication of the sustainability strategy to the stakeholders.” However, the evidence does not describe any dedicated mechanisms—such as periodic lobbying reviews, trade-association alignment checks, or board sign-off on advocacy positions—that would demonstrate systematic monitoring or correction of lobbying activities, and the Bank emphasises that, for FY 2021-22, it “has not undertaken any spending towards political campaigns, political organisations, lobbyists or lobbying organisations,” suggesting minimal formal lobbying rather than a defined governance process. Consequently, while the disclosure names responsible parties and makes a general commitment to align engagement with climate policy, it does not reveal a structured process for governing direct or indirect lobbying in practice.

View Sources

Lobbying Transparency

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Moderate	State Bank of India provides a moderate level of transparency around its climate-policy lobbying. It identifies two concrete national initiatives it has sought to influence—the inclusion of Electric Vehicles in Priority Sector Lending and the National Green Hydrogen Mission—going beyond broad thematic references to name the specific programmes it engages on. The bank explains that it works mainly through the Indian Banks’ Association, noting participation in a "Workshop by IBA in collaboration with Green Indian Financial System on Transition Risks" and that it is "part of the working group of IBA," and it names the Reserve Bank of India as the regulatory target for its advocacy on lending guidelines, giving readers a clear sense of both mechanism and audience. The desired outcomes are also spelled out: it aims to add EVs to priority-sector lending “to incentivize banks to enhance EV financing” and to "ease financing provisions for the projects being taken up under the National Green Hydrogen Mission," measures it says align with India’s 30 % EV penetration goal and the Paris Agreement. However, the disclosures do not extend to other climate policies that may be material for the bank, nor do they provide more than these two stated objectives, so while the company is reasonably clear where it does engage, the overall picture remains partial rather than exhaustive.	C