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Dhaka, Bangladesh, October 04, 2017–
IFC, a member of World Bank Group, and Bangladesh Bank organized a learning event for delegates from central banks of Ghana, Nepal, and Nigeria to share Bangladesh Bank’s experience of adopting sound environmental and social practices as part of sustainable banking network.
The countries are members of the Sustainable Banking Network – an IFC-supported global knowledge platform for financial sector regulatory agencies and banking associations from the emerging markets. It promotes a shift in how the financial sector contributes to environmental and social goals. Established in 2012, SBN membership has reached 31 countries, collectively covering an estimated $42.5 trillion in banking assets.
Bangladesh Bank is one of the founding members of the Sustainable Banking Network and a pioneer in promoting sustainable finance. Recently, Bangladesh Bank updated its environmental and social risk management guidelines for banks and financial institutions. It is considered a model for emerging markets regulators embarking on a similar journey.
“Green finance presents a huge opportunity to deliver on the Paris accord and the Sustainable Development Goals, to which Bangladesh is a signatory,” said Mr. S.K Sur Chowdhury, Deputy Governor, Bangladesh Bank. “We are delighted to share our experience in environmental and climate finance, policy development, and implementation with other member countries to help them develop and improve their own policies and create a green future.”
The 3-day learning event will use a mix of lectures, presentations, and site visits, where delegates will learn about international sustainable finance principles in banking operations and witness first-hand how financial sector and businesses are responding to the sustainable finance efforts by Bangladesh Bank.
“Higher standards of environmental and social risk management by financial institutions are a powerful way to manage concrete business risks, increase market trust, and attract investment, especially towards green financing,” said Wendy Werner, IFC Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. “We are proud to connect SBN’s regulator members to share experience on this journey toward sustainable finance.”
IFC has also backed regulators in these efforts by providing its technical expertise and sharing experience in implementing IFC’s environmental and social performance standards, which have become a global benchmark for finance in emerging markets. IFC’s Environmental and Social Risk Management programs are implemented in partnership with several donors including Canadian International Development Agency and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
About Bangladesh Bank
Bangladesh Bank, the central bank and apex regulatory body for the country's monetary and financial system, was established in Dhaka as a body corporate vide the Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972 (P.O. No. 127 of 1972) with effect from December 16, 1971. It has ten offices in Bangladesh and employed 5807 staff (officials 3981, subordinate staff 1826) as of March 31, 2015. Bangladesh Bank (BB) has been integrating 'sustainability' into core banking practices through green banking, corporate social responsibility, financial inclusion and financial education.
About Sustainable Banking Network
The Sustainable Banking Network is a knowledge and capacity-building platform of financial regulators, banking associations, and environmental regulators from emerging markets interested in developing sustainable finance frameworks based on national context and priorities, as well as international good practices. IFC acts as the secretariat of the network, playing the role of facilitator and technical adviser to SBN. SBN membership now consists of 31 member countries, which represent over 85 percent of the banking assets across emerging markets. SBN members include regulators and banking associations from Argentina, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Honduras, India, Lao PDR, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam.
Thirteen countries have launched sustainable finance polices and guidelines to date. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org/sbn
.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In FY17, we delivered a record $19.3 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to help end poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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