Washington, D.C., October 26, 2007
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, welcomes the announcement by National Australia Bank that it has become the 55th financial institution to adopt the Equator Principles. This confirms the bank’s commitment to sustainability, and it further establishes the Equator Principles as the international environmental and social standards for project finance.
According to Rachel Kyte, IFC Director for Environmental and Social Development, “National Australia Bank’s adoption of the Equator Principles is particularly meaningful to us, as IFC worked with the bank toward achieving this goal. It was a great pleasure to interact with such a dedicated team. We welcome the bank into the Community of Learning.”
The Equator Principles are a voluntary set of guidelines for managing social and environmental issues related to the financing of development projects, which are based on IFC’s Performance Standards. Launched by 10 banks in June 2003, the principles were revised in June 2006 and have been adopted to date by 55 financial institutions. In total, these banks are estimated to arrange about 85 percent of project financing worldwide. The Community of Learning is a learning initiative sponsored by IFC for banks and financial institutions that apply the Performance Standards.
In adopting the Equator Principles, National Australia Bank will provide loans only to projects that are in compliance with internationally recognized social and environmental standards.
For more information on the Equator Principles, including a list of current signatories, see:
www.equator-principles
.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that poor people have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through loan participations and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
