BoE's Bailey highlights environmental regulation of banks

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey highlighted the central bank's work to ensure financial institutions took account of global warming risks in a letter to finance minister Rishi Sunak which it published on Wednesday.

Bailey's letter, dated Aug. 27, was a formal response to a March 23 recommendation from Sunak for the BoE's Prudential Regulation Committee to support government goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.

"We have instigated a number of initiatives that help ensure PRA-regulated firms develop capabilities to effectively identify, measure, manage, and where needed mitigate the financial risks they face from climate change," Bailey wrote.

"As well as improving prudential resilience, these initiatives will help support the financial system and real economy through the transition to net-zero emissions," he added.

(Reporting by David Milliken, Editing by Paul Sandle)