What’s new: Five global banks signed up as cornerstone members of the Alliance for Green Commercial Banks, a global green banking initiative established by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The five cornerstone banks are Bank of China (Hong Kong), Citigroup, Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC and Standard Chartered. They are to work closely with the IFC and the HKMA to advocate client adaptation of green strategies, promote best practices in green products and services, and unlock new business opportunities to enable the green transition of economies, the HKMA said in a statement
“The HKMA is committed to making Hong Kong a leading global hub for green finance,” HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said. “Building the capacity of commercial banks and other financial institutions in Asia will help to scale up green finance markets and increase the risk resilience of the sector.”
The background: The alliance, launched in November 2020, is a global initiative that brings together financial institutions, research institutions and innovative technology providers to develop a green community in emerging markets to collectively finance the infrastructure and business solutions needed to urgently address climate and environmental risks.
Emerging markets in East Asia and the Pacific alone have the potential to attract $18 trillion in climate-related investments by 2030 for projects such as green buildings, renewable energy, electric vehicles and public transportation, according to IFC research.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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