ESG and climate-related risks versus traditional risks in commercial banking: A bibliometric and thematic review

Abstract

The aim of this study is to classify scientific research on the impact of ESG and climate-related risks on the conduct of the banking business. The systematic literature review was based on a bibliometric analysis of articles found in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The search was confined to materials published between 2000 and August 2023. After applying criteria limiting the search, the final result was 869 unique literature items which were later analysed towards establishing the relationship of ESG and climate-related risks (‘new banking risks’) with other (so-called ‘traditional’) banking risks and identifying research gaps at the interface between traditional and new banking risks. This article introduces a variety of findings, including the most productive authors, organisations, countries and journals, the most cited articles and keyword distribution. In addition, a map of the evolution of the approach to ESG risk in banking was constructed on the basis of the literature review. The study identified 11 clusters of banking risk influenced by ESG risk and 10 clusters of banking risk affected by climate-related risk.