ABOUT 95% of banks have already submitted their transition plans or sustainable finance frameworks as part of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) sustainability agenda, an official from the regulator said.

BSP Assistant Governor Lyn I. Javier said at a briefing on Thursday that banks have submitted their transition plans or sustainable finance frameworks, with some lenders ahead in integrating sustainability principles into their operations.

“We have first-mover banks who are already well ahead in terms of adopting a sustainability agenda. They already have policies or a framework on sustainable finance, and they just have to enhance it based on the expectations of the BSP,” Ms. Javier said.

The BSP has been pushing its sustainability agenda to financial institutions as it seeks to mitigate climate risks by advocating green policies and practices.

Meanwhile, Ms. Javier said since 2017, banks have issued about $4.48 billion in sustainable bonds as of end-June 2023.

“These were actually intended to finance the needs of digital MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) and we have a bank that issued $100 million of blue bonds,” she said.

Financing for renewable energy by banks reached P243.6 billion as of end-September 2022, Ms. Javier added.

She noted that collaboration with various stakeholders will be needed in pushing for sustainability in the financial system.

“The information that the BSP is collecting right now is not designed to assess the climate risk exposure of financial institutions. We have to capture more information and also capacitate financial institutions in terms of assessing their risk exposures,” she said. — KBT

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