Green Banking as a Progressive Format of Financial Activity in Transition to Sustainable Economy

The article is devoted to the study of environmentally responsible (green) banking and the analysis “green” practice in Russia and abroad. The article develops the thesis about the importance of greening of financial decisions of commercial banks to create a sustainable economy. Based on the opinions of different researchers, the author’s decision that environmentally responsible banking is a strategically important format of bank activity, which guarantees the synergy of four effects: increasing the economic efficiency of banks, forming the social image of banks, reducing the harmful effects on the ecosystem and generating future social benefits. The authors systematized internal and external elements of green banking. Internal elements are remote methods of customer service, the introduction of paperless workflow and “smart” equipment. External elements include green lending, issue of green securities, affinity card issuance and ecology charity. Comparative analysis in the BRICS countries showed that the most progressive “green” practice is implemented in Brazil and China. India and Russia took a backward position. It is established that the Bank of Russia, unlike regulators of other countries, does not play the role of “driver” of ecologically responsible activity of commercial banks.