In the banking sector, there is an ongoing development in green financing with the emergence of green corporate loans. However, there are variations in banks risk’ management and the level of acceptance for issuing green loans. Similarly, there are disparities in the role of different sources of information to assess organisational risks, as per ESG ratings and sustainability reporting. As for now, there is a limited level of research of the operational work in this area as risks and risk management are dynamic and changes with the development of society. Thus, this study explores the operational risk management of green corporate loans and perceives the role of organisations’ ESG rating and sustainability reporting in the same context when assessing risks.  The study applies a qualitative method with triangulation, as it combines empirical material from five semi-structured interviews and five sustainability reports from the respective bank to get nuances of the research area. The results show that risk management is partially based on bankers' own perceptions of companies and their relationships with their clients. The level of acceptance of risks is spread which delimits standardisations in processes of assessment. Individual frameworks are used by banks to manage green corporate loans, but these require continuous development and some environmental knowledge. Additional sources of information in assessments therefore play a big role and can be seen as the main source to understand organisations and their related risks. However, organisations’ ESG ratings and sustainability reporting are still perceived with a lack of credibility and should be used with precaution in the assessment. Thus, this study contributes to an extension of the empirical material as it demonstrates implications with variations in risk management and provides indications of the role of additional information sources when assessing risks.

Banks have a vital role in the society-wide green transition. However, the field of green finance is relatively unexplored in academia. Our study aims to extend the knowledge of green corporate loans by investigating what soft and hard information Swedish banks use to overcome the information asymmetry in the lending decision and what role the information plays. Based on fragmented literature, a tentative model is created, and used to form the study. The study adopts a qualitative research strategy and semi-structured interviews were held with respondents from the four largest banks in Sweden. Using the collected data, the tentative model was corroborated and adjusted, resulting in a finalised model. The study found that the following information components are used to evaluate green corporate loans: financial statements, collaterals, credit score, owners, character, micro and macro analysis, ESG approach and green criteria. Although most emphasis is put on hard information, soft information is also necessary for banks to make a lending decision. The study has multiple practical contributions relating to challenges posed by soft information, and the loan assessment. Theoretically, the study contributes with a baseline for future studies investigating the topic of green corporate loans.