There are two membership categories and the applicable category is determined by whether the financial institution is “Active in Project Finance ”.

A financial institution is “Active in Project Finance” when:

a) it has current loans on its books which are subject to the Equator Principles (EPs), or
b) it has provided Project Finance loans or Project Finance Advisory Services within the previous 24 months, or
c) it has the intention of providing Project Finance loans or Project Finance Advisory Services within a 12 month period.

Equator Principles Financial Institution

An Equator Principles Financial Institution is a financial institution that has adopted the EPs, in accordance with the procedures in the Governance Rules, and is “Active in Project Finance”.

The ongoing requirements for an Equator Principles Financial Institution are:

• that it shall continue to be Active in Project Finance;
• that it shall Report Publicly at least annually about its implementation of the EPs, in accordance with EP 10 and the Governance Rules;
• that it shall pay the Annual Fee in a timely manner;
• that it shall provide annually to the EP Association Secretariat a hyperlink to the relevant page on its website where it Reports Publicly;
• and that, if it ceases to be Active in Project Finance and wishes to become an Associate, it shall inform the EP Association Secretariat in writing so that its change in status can be recorded.

Each Equator Principles Financial Institution shall introduce and implement its own internal social and environmental risk management policies, procedures and standards in order to comply with the EPs.  It is expected of all Equator Principles Financial Institutions that they apply all the principles to all new projects over $10m from the date of adoption. It is recommended that all the relevant policy and procedures to enable them to do this are in place at the time of adoption.

Associate

An Associate is a financial institution that has adopted the EPs, in accordance with the procedures in the Governance Rules, as part of its broader approach to sustainability but is not Active in Project Finance.

The ongoing requirements for an Associate are:

• that it shall Report Publicly at least annually about the relevance of the EPs to its business and how it uses the EPs to implement the IFC Performance Standards and Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines in its business;
• that it shall pay the Annual Fee in a timely manner.
• that it shall provide annually to the EP Association Secretariat a hyperlink to the relevant page on its website where it Reports Publicly;
• and that, if it becomes Active in Project Finance, it shall inform the EP Association Secretariat in writing, so that its change in status can be recorded.

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Related Content:

• About Adoption
• The Benefits
• The Adoption Process
• The Annual Fee
• Frequently Asked Questions