Banks face the responsibility of greening operations for sustainable development

Accordingly, green credit development has become a strong requirement and trend globally; Green credit has become one of the main pillars of the green financial system. This topic is of interest to many countries.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hao – Deputy General Director of HDBank, received the Top 100 Sustainable Enterprises award at the CSI100 2023 Awards Ceremony, organized by VCCI.

Green growth is an inevitable trend

On December 2, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh gave an important speech at COP 28, which affirmed Vietnam’s determination to implement its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.

According to estimates by the World Bank (World Bank – WB), from now to 2040, Vietnam needs to invest an additional 368 billion USD, equivalent to about 6.8% of GDP each year, for the road to resilience and recovery. net zero emissions.

Statistics show that climate finance in Vietnam is still in its infancy (in 2020, climate finance only accounted for about 0.5% of total credit of Vietnamese banks – or about 0.2% of GDP) , thereby showing many opportunities for credit institutions to learn and exploit climate financial products in the coming time.

At a recent forum, Deputy Governor of the State Bank (SBV) Pham Thanh Ha said that green growth and sustainable development have become an inevitable trend, a goal that every country is aiming for. Vietnam is one of the countries facing many environmental problems and is heavily affected by climate change, negatively impacting economic development and people’s lives.

Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha emphasized that the banking industry is an important financial supply channel for the economy and always determines its role and responsibility in “greening” investment capital flows for sustainable development goals. .

The latest data show that in the period 2017-2022, the system’s outstanding credit balance for green fields has an average outstanding loan growth rate of more than 23%/year. By June 30, 2023, outstanding green credit loans reached nearly 530 trillion VND, accounting for about 4.2% of the total outstanding loans of the entire economy. Among the 12 green fields that the State Bank guides credit institutions to lend, outstanding loans focus mainly on renewable energy, clean energy (accounting for 45%) and green agriculture (31%).

Recently, many banks continue to promote green credit, and at the same time commit to increasing capital sources for environmentally friendly fields, so the scale and proportion of outstanding green credit debt of the Vietnamese banking system has increased over time. It is forecasted to expand and grow even more positively.

Pioneering “green responsibility”

Responsible for green growth and sustainable development, HDBank is one of the pioneering commercial banks in promulgating policies on green credit, environmental and social protection; At the same time, organize in-depth training programs for officials and employees on environmental and social risk assessment in the credit granting process, as well as strengthen consulting and accompanying activities with customers.

In its operations, HDBank has committed to implementing solutions to reduce carbon emissions many years ago, through practical actions, such as propagandizing and raising awareness of greenhouse gas emissions to employees. and in engaging in communication with the community.

Regarding green credit, by 2022, HDBank has disbursed more than 11,000 billion VND for green transformation and high-tech agricultural projects in addition to focusing capital and developing financial products for green credit. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially women-owned SME businesses.

Regarding the carbon credit market, HDBank determines that carbon credits will be a specific commodity in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. When the legal framework for this market is complete and the pilot operation of the carbon credit trading floor in 2025 is implemented as directed by the Government, HDBank will research to proactively and ready support solutions. Support people as well as businesses participating in this market.

In 2019, HDBank became the first bank in Vietnam to receive the Green Bank award – “Green Deal Award” from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The initial results are impressive

With green credit, in recent years HDBank has received great support in terms of capital as well as in-depth advice from reputable international financial institutions, such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), The main development fund belongs to the German KFW Reconstruction Bank (DEG), the French Development Finance Organization (Proparco), and programs of ADB and World Bank.

This cooperation process is constantly expanding, along with increased related funding limits, affirming HDBank’s reputation and role in the market, as well as in implementing the sustainable development strategy for the future. future, responsibility to the community.

Aiming to “green” banking operations, responsible for green growth and sustainable development, HDBank made its mark with a series of major domestic and foreign awards for sustainable development. Typically, in 2019, HDBank became the first bank in Vietnam to receive the Green Bank Award – “Green Deal Award” from ADB. Or in 2023, HDBank continues to be recognized at the Most Sustainable Development Bank in Vietnam award by the UK’s Global Banking & Finance Awards 2023.

At the CSI100 2023 Awards Ceremony organized by VCCI on December 13, HDBank was also a prominent member in the list of Top 100 sustainable enterprises operating in the field of trade and services in Vietnam in 2023. Accordingly, in 2023, HDBank has fully met 130 targets of the Sustainable Business Index (CSI) to receive this title for 5 consecutive years.

Pioneering in applying ESG standards on environment, society and corporate governance, HDBank’s financial capacity and operational efficiency are constantly improving with a chain of seamless growth over the past 10 years, Basel III standards have Comprehensively deployed, it can be said that HDBank possesses strong and advantageous foundations for sustainable development among the top commercial banks in Vietnam today and in the future./.