ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Fair Finance Philippines Highlights Role of Finance in Sustainability and Social Responsibility Through 2022 Bank Policy Assessment Launch
The launch was held on March 22, 2024 via Zoom. It was attended by various stakeholders, including representatives from banks, civil society organizations (CSOs), and universities.
Fair Finance Philippines (FFPh), a coalition of six Philippine-based CSOs, advocates for a responsible and sustainable financial sector in the Philippines primarily through conducting bank policy assessments where bank policies are scored and ranked accordingly.
Their latest assessment examined the lending and investment policies of BDO, BPI, Landbank, Metrobank, and RCBC.
Using the Fair Finance Guide International Methodology, FFPh scored the banks and compared them to international standards, initiatives, and best practices on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. The scoring system is publicly available to encourage financial institutions to incorporate ESG considerations into their policies, operations, and practices.
The event also featured a distinguished panel of speakers who delved into the pivotal role of finance in driving sustainability and social responsibility.
Dr. Felipe Calderon, the Executive Director of Gov. Jose B. Fernandez Jr. Center for Sustainable Finance at the Asian Institute of Management, discussed the importance of sustainable finance and how the banking and the corporate sector can be influenced.
“Banks, as financiers of economic activity, can encourage the corporate sector to integrate sustainable practice if they want to get their loans approved,” said Calderon. “Sustainability and sustainable finance are two sides of the same coin because the corporate sector will now be influenced by the lending criteria of the banking industry in order to finance their activities.”
Meanwhile, Marla Garin-Alvarez, the Vice President and Head of the Sustainability Reporting of Banco de Oro (BDO), underscored the bank’s commitment to sustainability. BDO, as the second placer since the first FFPh Bank Policy Assessment, showed the most significant improvements throughout the year.
“We seek to achieve strategic resilience by incorporating sustainability in the way we do business. We aim to embed sustainability principles in everything we do—when making decisions, assessing relationships, and creating products,” stated Garin-Alvarez.
Rhodora M. Brazil De Vera, the Deputy Director of the Supervisory Policy and Research Department within the Financial Supervision Sector of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), commended the Bank Policy Assessment for its contribution to enhancing the resilience and stability of the financial system.
“This exercise by the Fair Finance Philippines and other global associations contributes to the promotion of greater transparency among market participants,” noted De Vera.
“The increased transparency will encourage more investors, will attract funds to come into the country, and will contribute to the growth of the sustainable finance market in the Philippines,” she added.
Currently, BSP provides the overarching principles for integrating sustainability and ESG considerations into banks’ corporate and risk governance frameworks, strategies, and operations through the Sustainable Finance Framework.
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For those who are interested in learning more about the results of the 2022 Bank Policy Assessment and its implications for the future of finance in the Philippines, the full report of the 2022 Bank Policy Assessment can be accessed below.
Further updates and opportunities to contribute to a more equitable and sustainable financial ecosystem can be found on FFPh’s social media page.
FFPh is a coalition of six Philippine-based civil society organizations that advocates for a responsible and sustainable financial sector in the Philippines and in Asia with Fair Finance Asia (FFA) and nine other country coalitions. To know more about FFA, visit https://fairfinanceasia.org/.