„Green deposits have enormous long-term potential“
Matthias Hennig-Frieten is committed to advancing sustainable savings products despite their currently small market share. „The key is to bring the product out of its niche“, he emphasises. As Head of Sustainability & ESG at the fintech company Raisin, he focuses on offering investors green deposits.
However, Raisin – operator of the Weltsparen platform – faces significant challenges in growing the market. Hennig-Frieten sees a major obstacle in the lack of transparency and regulation. „There is no Europe-wide label for green or sustainable savings products, nor a regulatory framework to rely on“, he explains. This makes it difficult for investors to distinguish truly sustainable options from those that merely appear to be.
Risk of unintentional greenwashing
His strategy emphasises clear disclosure requirements for banks whose products Raisin offers. „Our framework is based on urging banks to disclose the information we consider essential, and to present it in a way that is understandable for customers," he says. "I believe we, as a platform, can contribute to this effort, helping to minimise the risk of unintentional or inadvertent greenwashing.“
„Most people who invest sustainably think about funds – as savings products are rarely associated with sustainability", he notes. Yet there is enormous potential in this sector. „Green deposits have tremendous long-term potential – European households collectively hold around ten trillion euros in savings that have yet to be mobilised for the transition to sustainable, clean technologies.“
Green bonds as a model
Looking at the market for green bonds, Hennig-Frieten sees proof that sustainable financial products can be highly successful. „Green bonds have been well established for nearly a decade and have achieved remarkable success, and a similar development could happen with sustainable savings deposits", he says.
Bringing extensive experience in banking, fintech, credit risk analysis, and ESG, Hennig-Frieten began his career at KfW, where he held various roles in risk management and digitalisation of credit risk from 2015 to 2019. He joined Raisin in 2019, first as a bank analyst, then as Head of Bank Analytics, before assuming his current position.
Having studied economics in Munich, he worked at BayernLB and KPMG, focusing on compliance and risk processes. Through his work, Hennig-Frieten aims to make sustainable savings products more accessible. „It's about establishing standards that allow investors to make informed choices for truly sustainable products", he says.
