FINM7407 Climate Risk and Banking: Citi’s Net-Zero Future

FINM7407 ASSIGNMENT

Semester 2 2024

Climate Risk and Banking: Citi’s Net-Zero Future

Assignment weight 20% (total marks 100)

Assignment questions

As a starting point, carefully read “Climate Risk and Banking: Citi’s Net-Zero Future” (see URL on Blackboard under “Assessment\Assignment”). Please use this case as  a background (together with your reading and understanding of the lecture/textbook and other publications from academic journals, if necessary) to carefully develop your answers to the five questions listed below:

1. Why has Citi decided to issue/underwrite $1 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030?  [20 marks]

2. What are green bonds? What are their benefits and risks? Why should  a company issue them?       [15 marks]

3. What are social bonds? What are their benefits and risks? Why should a company issue them?         [15 marks]

4. Why did Citi/Frser decide to announce a net-zero target by 2050? Do you agree? Why or

Why not? Is fighting climate change a role banks should play and why?          [20 marks]

5. Take a look at the heat maps (case Exhibit 15b). What would be priorities for Citi going forward as it tries to work toward its goal of net-zero and why?                [20 marks]

The remaining 10 marks out of possible total 100 marks will be allocated to the quality of references used, professional writing, and formatting.

Submission link

You are required to submit your assignment in “pdf” file in Blackboard. The deadline for submissions is Friday 11 October 2024 at 5:00pm

Upload your file to the link named “Assignment Submission Link”

Submission format

The length of your submission (including the cover page) should be from 5 to 10 pages (10 pages are the maximum) of text excluding list of references.  Figures and tables may be placed before or after the list of references. Use 1.5 line spacing, 11 font size ‘Times New Roman’, ‘Normal’ margins, justified paragraphs and page numbering in the bottom right-hand side (similar to this  document). Please insert your full name (family name entered last in capital letters) and eight-digit  student number as a header on every page of your submission  (see the sample header of this  document).

Your submission file must be in “pdf” format and name with your first name, last name, and student ID (FIRST_LAST_STUDENT ID). For example, the first name of the student is Lily and the surname of the student is Nguyen, her student ID is 12345678, then the submission file should be named as: LILY_NGUYEN_12345678

As a rule of thumb, using shorterparagraphs or sentences improve readability. Footnotes should be kept to a minimum. An introduction and conclusion are needed in your answer to each question. Please make sure we can clearly follow where one section ends and the other begins, i.e. use sub- headings  to  guide  the  reader.  The  sub-headings  corresponding  to  the  aforementioned  four questions in the write-up.

Further helpful guidelines for scoring marks on your assignment

•   There  could  be  more  than  one  answer  acceptable  to  the  examiners.  However, it  is your responsibility  to  clearly  defend your  answers  in  a  coherent manner  in your  written  submission.  That  is, providing vague comments or disjointed arguments are not acceptable answers. Similarly, any jargon or acronym should be followed by a brief definition or explanation when first used, e.g. shadow banking, repos, ABS or OFC.

•    Once again, you need to pay close attention to your arguments being coherent from  one question to the next. A better approach is to address both sides of an argument (i.e. pros and cons), and either stop there, or if you feel strongly about taking a position, clarify why you are doing so. Once again, as long as your arguments are presented coherently, either approach would be acceptable for assessment purposes.

•    It is good practice to initially develop your answers without worrying about the prescribed length. Once you believe you have completed your literature review (i.e. reading what others have published), you can then work towards polishing and cutting it down to size.

•    Please be aware that plagiarism, partly defined as copying and pasting someone else’s words into your assignment without proper acknowledgement, is unacceptable at UQ. Similarly, when you report someone else’s comments or ideas, you need to fully and clearly acknowledge the source right next to it. Sources you use are listed under ‘References’ that starts on a new page at the end of the main text before any figures and tables, using the Harvard Referencing Style. (see Blackboard under Assessment). It is also good practice to paraphrase other authors’words, which would  indicate your level  of understanding; avoid  making  long  direct  quotations. Nevertheless, a few short direct quotations maybe used to emphasize what you consider to be important points in your submission.

Learning objectives associated with the assignment

1.   Understanding climate risks and the role of banks in addressing climate risks.