HOME
THE PRINCIPLES
EP TRANSLATIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
CURRENT EPFI MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
BECOME AN ADOPTING INSTITUTION
DISCLOSURE BASED ON EP 10

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
Become an Adopting Institution

Sixty financial institutions from twenty-three countries have adopted the Equator Principles. These financial institutions operate in over 100 countries. As a result, the Equator Principles have become the project finance industry standard for addressing environmental and social issues in project financing globally.

The financial institutions which have adopted the Equator Principles are:

Argentina Banco Galicia
Australia ANZ
National Australia Bank
Westpac Banking Corporation
Belgium Dexia Group
Fortis
KBC Bank N.V.
Brazil Banco Bradesco
Banco do Brasil
Banco Itaú
Unibanco
Canada BMO Financial Group
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Export Development Canada
Manulife
Royal Bank of Canada
Scotiabank
TD Bank Financial Group
Chile CORPBANCA
Costa Rica CIFI
France Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank
Societe Generale
Denmark Eksport Kredit Fonden
Germany Dresdner Bank
HypoVereinsbank
KfW IPEX-Bank
WestLB AG
Italy Intesa Sanpaolo
MCC
Japan Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd.
SMBC
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ,Ltd
The Netherlands ABN AMRO Bank NV
FMO
ING Group
Rabobank Group
Oman BankMuscat
Portugal Banco Espírito Santo Group
Millennium bcp
South Africa Nedbank Group
Spain BBVA S.A.
Caja Navarra
la Caixa
Sweden Nordea
SEB
Switzerland Credit Suisse Group
Togo Financial Bank
United Kingdom Barclays plc
HBOS
HSBC Group
Lloyds TSB
Standard Chartered Bank
The Royal Bank of Scotland
United States Bank of America
Citigroup Inc.
E+Co
JPMorgan Chase
Wachovia
Wells Fargo
Uruguay Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay

What does it mean to "adopt" the Equator Principles? Do financial institutions sign an agreement of some kind?

Each institution adopting the Equator Principles individually declares that it has or will put in place internal policies and processes that are consistent with the Equator Principles.

Every financial institution will be required to complete a simple adoption process.

Below is the existing adoption procedure, which the secretariat introduces to the Institutions who wish to adopt EPs:

1) An adoption form is filled out by the adopting institution. The EP adoption form is available here

2) Incoming institution prepares and sends a press release announcing its adoption to be posted on the EP Website

3) Incoming institution provides a link to their home page and/or environmental page to be linked to their name which will be added to the list of adopting banks on the website

4) The adopting institution posts a link to the Equator Principles web site on its web site.

The adopting institutions shall send the documents mentioned in points 1-3 to the secretariat.

For further details regarding the adoption process, please contact Secretariat(at)equator-principles(dot)com. Secretariat will respond to the inquiry within 5 business days.

They may do this at any time.

Advantages for project sponsors of having a broad group of lenders adopt the Equator Principles include:
  • Commonality of approach among lenders saves sponsors the burden of producing different environmental assessments for different financial institutions and from trying to meet different standards among lenders
  • Implementing transactions more quickly by getting it right the first time
  • Having more certainty in project implementation
  • Having a more secure, long-term investment
  • Gaining reputational advantage
Advantages for financial institutions in a broad group of lenders adopting the Equator Principles include:
  • Using common terminology in assessing environmental and social issues
  • Using a common framework for implementation and documentation
  • Increasing productivity through reduced transaction time (getting it right the first time)
  • Having more certainty in closing project financings
  • Having a safer project loan
  • Gaining reputational advantage
Financial institutions that would like to learn more about how to adopt the Equator Principles should contact

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

Click here to start receiving press releases and other news about the Equator Principles.

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


Privacy Policy   |   Printer-Friendly Version   |   E-mail this Page