Charter of Sustainable and Responsible Investment. As a central bank committed to sustainability, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) considers it extremely important to use its available resources to support the management of the challenges caused by climate change, and to implement environmental aspects in the widest possible range of its activities, without jeopardizing its primary objective, the achievement and maintenance of price stability.To this end, the MNB published a Charter of Sustainable and Responsible Investment in November 2023, with which it expresses its commitment to making foreign exchange reserve management more environmentally sustainable and sets medium- and long-term objectives for greening reserve management without jeopardizing the traditional goals of reserve maintenance. In addition to serving as a compass for the foreign exchange reserve investment strategy in the integration of green aspects, the document can serve as an example for financial market participants and contribute to the development of the market. In the Charter, the central bank structures the greening of reserve management and the necessary steps along four pillars, which are (1) measurement, (2) investment strategy, (3) transparency/active engagement and (4) monitoring. The MNB monitors the relevant environmental sustainability factors and criteria and, if possible, integrates them into the investment processes, while keeping emphasis on the triple goal system of reserve management (liquidity-security-yield).
Impact analysis of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank's green bond portfolio. In 2019, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank began building its dedicated green bond portfolio, and thus the integration of environmental sustainability aspects into its reserve management. In addition to building the portfolio, monitoring the positive environmental effects generated by investments is also of particular importance. Keeping this in mind, in addition to traditional financial performance, the MNB also monitors the annual positive environmental impact of green bond investments and publishes it with the aim of transparency and setting a good example. With the green bond portfolio, the MNB is an active player in the market segment supporting sustainable growth, in accordance with the climate risk goals set out in its mandate, while keeping the primary tasks of reserve management (liquidity, security, yield) as top priorities.