DBS Bank has appointed Mr Helge Muenkel as the new chief sustainability officer with immediate effect to steer the bank' s sustainability and sustainable finance efforts, it announced on Monday (Jan 24).

 

Mr Muenkel will take over the role from Mr Mikkel Larsen, who in November 2021 transitioned into his role as chief executive of Climate Impact X - a joint venture between DBS, the Singapore Exchange, Standard Chartered and Temasek.

 

Prior to joining DBS, Mr Muenkel worked in Dutch bank ING as the head of Asia-Pacific, sustainable finance and global capital markets.

 

He was part of the bank' s global sustainable finance and capital markets management teams, as well as its global sustainable finance quality board. Mr Muenkel played a key role in the development of ING' s regional business of sustainability-related advisory services and sustainable finance transactions across products.

 

Mr Muenkel graduated from Munich University with a master' s degree in economics and a major in development economics. He also has a postgraduate degree in sustainability from Cambridge University.

 

" With more than 20 years of experience in sustainability and banking, Muenkel is well placed to build on commitments we have made and steer DBS' efforts to unlock greater environmental, social and governance impact across the region," said DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta.

 

Mr Gupta added that DBS has committed to being net zero by 2050 amid the " increasingly pressing" issue of climate change.

 

" At the same time, the problem of social inequality has also surfaced during the pandemic as deserving serious attention, and the bank continues to intensify efforts to support small businesses and communities."