UNSGSA Queen Máxima to Provide Virtual Keynote for Sustainable Banking and Finance Network Global Meeting

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H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), will deliver the virtual keynote address at the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network’s (SBFN) Seventh Global Meeting on 26 April 2022.

SBFN is a voluntary community of financial sector regulatory agencies and industry associations from 62 emerging markets committed to advancing sustainable finance. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, serves as SBFN’s secretariat.

Climate shocks are having a profound impact on vulnerable groups—particularly low-income households and small businesses—and are linked to worsening human development outcomes. Policies that support these segments in the face of climate challenges within sustainable finance frameworks are critical. Financial inclusion can play an important role in supporting resilience and adaptation among these groups.

UNSGSA Queen Máxima is expected to use her remarks to encourage SBFN members and annual meeting participants to advance their inclusive green finance initiatives, with particular focus at the individual and household level.

Queen Máxima will also highlight the opportunity for financial institutions to innovate and scale accessible instruments like climate-risk insurance and savings products. Finally, she will stress the importance of gathering more data and evidence to improve policy design.

The meeting will also feature IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop. Other speakers will include SBFN Chair Alfonso Garcia Mora, and senior leaders from central banks, financial regulatory agencies, industry associations, and more.

The meeting is invite-only. For more information, visit SBFN’s event webpage.