Omar Shaikh

An international prospectus from the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) has been produced to target students and professionals seeking a career in ethical, green, and socially responsible financial services.

The move comes after the world’s largest financial institutions met in Edinburgh this week to discuss progress towards positive global change.

Delegates included 30 senior Malaysian bankers currently on an executive education course with the University of Edinburgh Business School (UEBS).

The university recently partnered with the Asian Banking School (ABS), based in Kuala Lumpur, underlining Scotland’s growing reputation for environment, social, and governance (ESG) operations.

More than 160,000 people are employed in finance-related jobs and around £9.5 billion of responsible funds are already managed in Scotland.

GEFI assessed more than seven courses, including master’s programmes, against the UN’s sustainable development goals before including them in its 18-page prospectus.

Subjects include climate change finance and investment and ESG investing.

Professor Colyn Gardner, chief executive of the Asian Banking School, said: “As the largest specialised provider of quality banking training programmes in the region, Asian Banking School is well positioned to be on the pulse of what the industry’s training needs are and where it is headed to.

“We ensure that our courses are innovative, leading edge and relevant.

“That is why, when looking to partner on a new executive education programme for banking leaders covering the latest industry topics like sustainable finance, digital transformation, the future of finance, fintech and ESG [environmental, social and governance], we looked towards the University of Edinburgh Business School to collaborate with.

“The team has found working with the UEBS team to be an exceptional experience and the collaboration has produced a stellar programme that has been warmly received by the Malaysian banking industry.

“We were especially thrilled when our programme dates coincided with the Ethical Finance Global 2022 Summit held in Edinburgh and organised by the Global Ethical Finance Initiative.

“For our participants to be able to attend the summit as part of the ABS programme, is indeed invaluable.”

Omar Shaikh, managing director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative, said: “We all depend on global finance making the right choices to deliver positive change and achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals.

“Ethical finance offers the opportunity to learn how finance can serve the economy without losing sight of its impact on society and the environment.

“Scotland has an enabling culture for sustainable finance. Our new guide will help full-time students and busy professionals find the right opportunity in their journey towards sustainable finance.

“The partnership between the Asian Banking School and the University of Edinburgh Business School is testament to an inherent culture of inquiry that can once again shape the world.”

The World Bank, the Bank of England, and major finance and investment firms all attended the Ethical Finance Global summit in Edinburgh this week.