Egidio Palmieri is a Research Fellow in Bank Risk Management at the University of Udine where his current focus is on the relationship between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and banks. He specializes in credit mechanisms and risk mitigation effects. Additionally, he has explored the impact of ESG performance on the credit scores of non-financial institutions. He is also a Visiting Researcher in ESG and Bank Risk Management at Bangor University, UK. Enrico Fioravante Geretto is an Associate Professor at the University of Udine, Department of Economic Science and Statistics. In the past, he was a lecturer of banking operations techniques, insurance operations techniques, financial instruments techniques, asset management economics, intermediaries and financial markets.