Hong Kong SAR, China, June 7, 2022 – Five of the world's leading financial institutions have become cornerstone members of the Alliance for Green Commercial Banks (the Alliance), a global initiative aimed at bringing together pioneers in green finance to catalyze the financial innovation, investment, and leading practices in emerging markets that are urgently needed to address climate and environmental risks.
Bank of China (Hong Kong), Citi, Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC, and Standard Chartered, which collectively represent more than US$7 trillion in assets, have become cornerstone members of the Alliance, an initiative established by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. The Alliance's Asia chapter was jointly launched in 2020 with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the chapter's founding member and first regional anchor.
The Alliance brings together financial and research institutions and innovative technology providers to develop a green community in emerging markets to collectively finance the infrastructure and business solutions needed to advance sustainable economic development.
The Alliance's five cornerstone members are demonstrated leaders in green finance that have already achieved significant milestones that align with the Alliance's objectives. The banks will work closely with IFC and the HKMA to advocate client adaptation to green strategies, promote best practices in green products and services, and unlock new business opportunities that will enable the green transition of economies.
The Alliance also leverages its resources to help financial institutions in their green transition with the support of a blue-chip roster of partners. To date, three global partners – The Carbon Trust, The Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, and the Resource and Environment Branch of the China National Institute of Standardization – and a knowledge partner, the University of Chicago, have committed to contribute their expertise on everything from innovation and standardization to academic points of view.
In addition, the Alliance launched its first thought leadership paper, entitled "Climate Risk: Definitions, Measurement, Current Practices and Regulatory Oversight", in collaboration with the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research, the research arm of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance. As part of the Alliance's knowledge sharing efforts, the paper aims to be a primer on climate risk and its broad reverberations in the financial services industry for a non-technical audience in Asia and internationally. It provides an overview of the definitions and measurement of climate risk, as well as an exploration of the evolving practices in addressing climate risk, highlighting regulatory initiatives related to climate issues.
The paper will be uploaded to the Alliance's website, which officially launches today (7 June). The website will serve as a repository of green finance resources, such as the Alliance's capacity building events, thought leadership papers, and latest green finance news, among other resources.
"We are delighted to welcome five of the world's leading financial institutions to the Alliance for Green Commercial Banks," said Alfonso Garcia Mora, Regional Vice President for Asia and Pacific at IFC. "Asia is the world's largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which makes unleashing the region's climate-smart investment potential critical to tackling climate change. With vast flows of capital from investors into both large corporations and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in Asia, all of which are becoming far more aware of the critical need to play their part in the green transition, green finance stands to play a huge role in the region's sustainable economic development going forward."
"The HKMA is committed to making Hong Kong SAR a leading global hub for green finance," said Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA. "Building the capacity of commercial banks and other financial institutions in Asia will help to scale up green finance markets and increase the risk resilience of the sector. The five cornerstone members share our vision of promoting more sustainable and more resilient regional growth, and we are excited to work with them in our collective efforts to address climate and environmental risks."
According to IFC research, cities in emerging markets in East Asia and the Pacific alone have the potential to attract US$18 trillion in climate-related investments by 2030, in everything from green buildings, renewable energy and electric vehicles to public transportation.
About the Alliance
The Alliance is a global initiative that brings together financial institutions, research institutions, and innovative technology providers to develop a green community in emerging markets to collectively finance the infrastructure and business solutions needed to urgently address climate and environmental risks. The Alliance was launched in November 2020 by the IFC and its first regional anchor, the HKMA. For more information, please visit: www.allianceforgreencommercialbanks.org.
About IFC
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
About HKMA
The HKMA is Hong Kong's central banking institution. The HKMA's main functions are: (i) maintaining currency stability within the framework of the Linked Exchange Rate System; (ii) promoting the stability and integrity of the financial system, including the banking system; (iii) helping to maintain Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, including the maintenance and development of Hong Kong's financial infrastructure; and (iv) managing the Exchange Fund.
