Van Lanschot Kempen supports the intention of the Fair Bank Guide: making the sustainability policies and performances of the Dutch financial sector more transparent and comparable through independent review. At the same time, we are critical about the assessment method used by the Fair Bank Guide. Consequently, we do not always agree with the scores that we have received.

Two examples

• Our scores are compared with those of various Dutch banks, even though their operations do not always match those of Van Lanschot Kempen as a wealth manager. For instance, our lending portfolio is quite limited and the loans that we do provide are mainly taken up by small companies. We believe that we cannot always expect small companies to comply with the same reporting standards that we expect large companies to meet. The Fair Bank Guide does not make a distinction in this respect and consequently loans to small companies have a negative effect on the outcome of the study, while their impact is demonstrably small.
  
  
• The approach of the Fair Bank Guide focuses on excluding companies. We are an engaged shareholder and aim to support our clients in investing their capital in organisations and companies that contribute to the transition to a more sustainable economy and that pioneer more sustainable consumption patterns and business models. By exiting a company we would indeed improve our score in the Fair Bank Guide assessment, but we would no longer be able to exert influence on these companies to change their policies.