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Equator News Coverage

China to bring in green loan benchmark, 25 January, 2008

A Question of Principles, Infrastructure Magazine, by Kimberley Gaskin, June 2007

Citigroup to scale up its green spending,The Financial Times, 8 May 2007.

Leaders challenge 'business as usual', Guardian, 6 November 2006

Financial Sector Responsibility

Building a better world (for investors and whales), The Banker, 3 July 2006

Update on the Equator Principles - 2006 Revision, Allens Arthur Robinson, August 2006

The Miami Herald July 31, 2006.

Building sustainability into syndication, Project Finance - July/August 2006

For Citigroup, Greening Starts With Listening

For people and planet, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 April 2006

Conservation You Can Bank On (Christopher Wright) (PDF - 91k)

'A New Environment', Legal Week 2 February 2006 (Paul Watchman and Charles July of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) (PDF - 2572k)

'Banks Business and Human Rights' (2006) 2 JIBFL 46 (Paul Watchman of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) (PDF - 59k)

Polluters Clean Up Act to Attract Lenders, The Moscow Times, 12 October 2005

The Equator Principles - guidelines for responsible project financing, Focus, Allens Arthur Robinson, August 2005 (PDF - 122k)

Corporate Green, Washington Post, 11 May 2005

Taking The Earth Into Account, Time Europe, 9 May 2005

Principles in Question, The Banker, March 2005 (PDF - 97k)

Banking on the future, Euromoney Syndicated Lending Handbook 2005, December 2004 (PDF - 38k)

A Matter of Principles, Global Finance, January 2005

Principle Finance, Euromoney, October 2004

Putting principles into practice, Environmental Finance, June 2004

'Greening' of financial sector gathering speed, Financial Times, 4 June 2004

"Equator - Risk and Sustainability," from Project Finance International, 2004 Yearbook. (PDF - 429k)

NGOs Bring Bank Scrutiny Back on Track, Ethical Corporation Online, 2 May 2004

Banks contest ban proposed for coal and oil extraction, Financial Times, 5 April 2004

A Matter of Principal, Project Finance, 3 March 2004

The Equator Principles: a milestone or just good PR?, Global Agenda, 26 January 2004

Mizuho To Adopt Environmental Standards In Project Financing, CNNfn, 26 October 2003

Dexia adhère aux "Equator principles", La Tribune, 22 September 2003 (in French)

Western Banks Set Standards for Eco-Friendly Lending. Japanese Banks Far Behind. NGO Keeping Close Watch, Nikkei, 5 September 2003

A point of principle, Global Finance, July 2003

Equator Principles — Why Indian Banks Too Should be Guided by Them, The Hindu, 25 July 2003

Project finance — Standards for Lending, Financial Mail, 25 July 2003

Financiers must meet criteria, Business Day, 14 July 2003

Banks agree new loan guidelines, Ethical Performance, July 2003

Principled finance?, Project Finance, June 2003 Cover Story

Banks club together to turn their notes green, The Age, 22 June 2003

Nikkei Financial Daily, 11 June 2003 (in Japanese - PDF)

Banks' green pledge earns mixed response, swissinfo, 10 June 2003

Greening the banks, The Economist, 7-13 June 2003

Leading banks sign up to project finance principles, Environmental Finance, 6 June 2003

Bancos adotam princípios de responsabilidade social, Valor Econômico, 5 June 2003 (in Portuguese)

Zehn Banken werden zu Umweltschützern, Die Tageszeitung, 5 June 2003 (in German)

Major Banks Endorse Equator Principles, The Peninsula, Qatar, 5 June 2003

The 'Equator Principles' adopted by leading banks, The Times of India, 5 June 2003

Westpac's principles, Australian Financial Review, 5 June 2003

Loan rules with an eye on nature, International Herald Tribune, 5 June 2003

10 global banks endorse socially responsible "Equator Principles", Agence France Presse, 5 June 2003

"THE FLIP SIDE", CNN, 4 June 2003 (transcript)

IFC Head's Remarks at Equator Principles Press Conference, 4 June 2003

Banks sign up for responsible lending accord, Financial Times, 4 June 2003

Banks Accept Environmental Rules, The Wall Street Journal, 4 June 2003

Banks in drive for project principles, Financial Times, 9 April 2003

Four banks adopt IFC agreement, Financial Times, 7 April 2003

Contact

Contact for information about the Equator Principles
China to bring in green loan benchmark

By Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-25 10:35

The nation's environmental watchdog will work with the financial sector to bring in an international benchmark on green credit. The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) signed a deal with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Beijing yesterday to introduce the Equator Principles in China.

The principles are a voluntary set of guidelines based on IFC policies to incorporate social and environmental issues in project financing.

Finance is provided only to projects that will be conducted in a socially and environmentally responsible way that's in line with the principles.

China introduced the green loan concept last July, part of its enforcement of eco-friendly economic policies. Communications between environmental monitors and banks saw some plants blacklisted from receiving loans because of their pollution record.

"It was proved an effective instrument to curb pollution and lower financial risk," said Yang Chaofei, director of the SEPA's policy department.

But increasing demand for green credit meant environmental groups and banks needed a set of international standards, Yang said.

Lian Gong, deputy head of credit management at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), agreed.

The ICBC surveyed its 59,000 corporate clients last year to assess environmental performance. About 78 percent were cleared for green loans of more than 200 million yuan, accounting for about 80 percent of the total.

"As we pushed forward with the green loan concept, the biggest problem we faced was how to assess pollution risk for different industries," Lian said.

The Equator Principles cover 63 sectors that cause environmental problems, such as manufacturing, petrochemicals, energy and infrastructure construction.

Initial collaboration between the SEPA and IFC produced environmental, health and safety guidelines for pulp and paper mills and the mining sector.

Li Xiaowen, from the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said the benchmark's introduction indicated a shift in the banking industry's focus to environmental and social issues as a business risk.

She urged the financial sector to join with the environmental agency to meet the nation's energy conservation and environmental protection targets.

Institutions Which Have Adopted the Equator Principles

ABN AMRO Bank, N.V.
ANZ
Banco Bradesco
Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay
Banco do Brasil
Banco Galicia
Banco Itaú
BankMuscat
Bank of America
BMO Financial Group
BTMU
Barclays plc
BBVA
BES Group
Calyon
Caja Navarra
CIBC
CIFI
Citigroup Inc.
CORPBANCA
Credit Suisse Group
Dexia Group
Dresdner Bank
E+Co
EKF
Export Development Canada
Financial Bank
FMO
Fortis
HBOS
HSBC Group
HypoVereinsbank
ING Group
Intesa Sanpaolo
JPMorgan Chase
KBC
KfW IPEX-Bank
la Caixa
Lloyds TSB
Manulife
MCC
Mizuho Corporate Bank
Millennium bcp
National Australia Bank
Nordea
Nedbank Group
Rabobank Group
Royal Bank of Canada
Scotiabank
SEB
Societe Generale
Standard Chartered Bank
SMBC
TD Bank Financial Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland
Unibanco
Wachovia
Wells Fargo
WestLB AG
Westpac Banking Corporation

Mailing List

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World Bank/IFC Links

World Bank Guidelines and Criteria Referenced in the Equator Principles

Development Indicators Database

IFC Guidelines and Policies Referenced in the Equator Principles

Sector-Specific EHS Guidelines

Performance Standards


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