DBS Bank has announced the appointment of Helge Muenkel as its new Chief Sustainability Officer with effect from today.
He will be succeeding Mikkel Larsen who transitioned into his role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Climate Impact X (CIX), a joint venture of DBS, SGX, Standard Chartered Bank and Temasek, in November 2021.
Muenkel joins DBS from ING, where he worked for 10 years and was most recently Head of Asia Pacific, Sustainable Finance and Global Capital Markets.
In this role, he successfully grew the bank’s regional business of sustainability-related advisory services and sustainable finance transactions across products.
He was also part of ING’s global Sustainable Finance and Capital Markets management teams as well as the bank’s global Sustainable Finance Quality Board.
Prior to ING, he spent more than 12 years in various roles at Deutsche Bank AG and UniCredit Group being based in different cities across Europe, the US and Asia Pacific.
As an active sustainability advocate, Muenkel led the Working Group on Sustainability-related Disclosures in an Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) which is sponsored by and supports the 10 ASEAN Ministries of Finance and Capital Markets Regulators.
He also regularly engages with sustainability-focused groups such as the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA).
Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Bank, said,
“DBS, for one, has committed to being net zero by 2050. 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.
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 ESG impact across the region.”
To support businesses in their sustainability transitions, DBS has committed to finance SGD 50 billion in renewable, clean-energy and green projects by 2024.
