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 Environmental standards loom ever larger in banks' lending decisions, by Susanne Bergius, ENDS Report, December 2008
German | English
 60 Second Profile on the Equator Principles, Good Practice Newsletter from ICMM, December 2008
Ecology Stamp on Project Finance, by Susanne Bergius, Handelsblatt, 16 July 2008 (in German)
 Banks increase their environmental requirements
 Promoting Greater Responsibility in Project Financing by Natasha Cappon, Canada, Spring, 2008
 China to bring in green loan benchmark, 25 January, 2008
 A Question of Principles, Infrastructure Magazine, by Kimberley Gaskin, June 2007
 Citigroup to scale up its green spending,The Financial Times, 8 May 2007.
Leaders challenge 'business as usual', Guardian, 6 November 2006
Financial Sector Responsibility
Building a better world (for investors and whales), The Banker, 3 July 2006
Update on the Equator Principles - 2006 Revision, Allens Arthur Robinson, August 2006
The Miami Herald
July 31, 2006.
Building sustainability into syndication, Project Finance - July/August 2006
For Citigroup, Greening Starts With Listening
For people and planet, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 April 2006
Conservation You Can Bank On (Christopher Wright) (PDF - 91k)
'A New Environment', Legal Week 2 February 2006 (Paul Watchman and Charles July of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) (PDF - 2572k)
'Banks Business and Human Rights' (2006) 2 JIBFL 46 (Paul Watchman of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) (PDF - 59k)
 Polluters Clean Up Act to Attract Lenders, The Moscow Times, 12 October 2005
The Equator Principles - guidelines for responsible project financing, Focus, Allens Arthur Robinson, August 2005 (PDF - 122k)
Corporate Green, Washington Post, 11 May 2005
Taking The Earth Into Account, Time Europe, 9 May 2005
Principles in Question, The Banker, March 2005 (PDF - 97k)
Banking on the future, Euromoney Syndicated Lending Handbook 2005, December 2004 (PDF - 38k)
A Matter of Principles, Global Finance, January 2005
Principle Finance, Euromoney, October 2004
Putting principles into practice, Environmental Finance, June 2004
'Greening' of financial sector gathering speed, Financial Times, 4 June 2004
"Equator - Risk and Sustainability," from Project Finance International, 2004 Yearbook. (PDF - 429k)
NGOs Bring Bank Scrutiny Back on Track, Ethical Corporation Online, 2 May 2004
Banks contest ban proposed for coal and oil extraction, Financial Times, 5 April 2004
A Matter of Principal, Project Finance, 3 March 2004
The Equator Principles: a milestone or just good PR?, Global Agenda, 26 January 2004
 Mizuho To Adopt Environmental Standards In Project Financing, CNNfn, 26 October 2003
 Dexia adhère aux "Equator principles", La Tribune, 22 September 2003 (in French)
 Western Banks Set Standards for Eco-Friendly Lending. Japanese Banks Far Behind. NGO Keeping Close Watch, Nikkei, 5 September 2003
A point of principle, Global Finance, July 2003
 Equator Principles — Why Indian Banks Too Should be Guided by Them, The Hindu, 25 July 2003
 Project finance — Standards for Lending, Financial Mail, 25 July 2003
Financiers must meet criteria, Business Day, 14 July 2003
Banks agree new loan guidelines, Ethical Performance, July 2003
Principled finance?, Project Finance, June 2003 Cover Story
Banks club together to turn their notes green, The Age, 22 June 2003
Nikkei Financial Daily, 11 June 2003 (in Japanese - PDF)
 Banks' green pledge earns mixed response, swissinfo, 10 June 2003
Greening the banks, The Economist, 7-13 June 2003
Leading banks sign up to project finance principles, Environmental Finance, 6 June 2003
Bancos adotam princípios de responsabilidade social, Valor Econômico, 5 June 2003 (in Portuguese)
Zehn Banken werden zu Umweltschützern, Die Tageszeitung, 5 June 2003 (in German)
 Major Banks Endorse Equator Principles, The Peninsula, Qatar, 5 June 2003
The 'Equator Principles' adopted by leading banks, The Times of India, 5 June 2003
Westpac's principles, Australian Financial Review, 5 June 2003
 Loan rules with an eye on nature, International Herald Tribune, 5 June 2003
10 global banks endorse socially responsible "Equator Principles", Agence France Presse, 5 June 2003
"THE FLIP SIDE", CNN, 4 June 2003 (transcript)
 IFC Head's Remarks at Equator Principles Press Conference, 4 June 2003
Banks sign up for responsible lending accord, Financial Times, 4 June 2003
Banks Accept Environmental Rules, The Wall Street Journal, 4 June 2003
Banks in drive for project principles, Financial Times, 9 April 2003
Four banks adopt IFC agreement, Financial Times, 7 April 2003
Contact
Contact for information
about the Equator Principles
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Leading banks sign up
to project finance principles
ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCE, June 6, 2003
New York — Ten leading banks have adopted voluntary guidelines for managing environmental and social issues surrounding project financing. Announced on Wednesday, the ‘Equator Principles’, based on World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) policies, will be applied to projects globally across all industry sectors.
“This is a huge step forward for the private sector,” Christopher Beale, the New
York-based global head of project finance at Citigroup, told Environmental Finance.
“This is a global framework, with common language about how we identify [social
and environmental] risks and best practice standards.”
The Principles will see the ten banks, which accounted for 30% of the project
loan syndication market worldwide in 2002, classify projects into three groups,
based on IFC policies.
Borrowers developing projects in the two higher-risk groups will be required
to carry out an environmental assessment covering issues such as the project’s
impacts on indigenous populations and biodiversity, pollution prevention and
the efficient use of energy.
For high risk projects, developers will also be required to prepare an environmental
management plan, demonstrate adequate stakeholder consultation and, in some
cases, commission an independent assessment of the project’s impacts, among
other things.
These Principles will be incorporated into loan covenants and, if borrowers
fail to comply, they will be judged to be in default. “This, in my opinion,
has some teeth that will make it effective,” Beale added.
The Principles will not, however, require that participating banks avoid financing
any particular class of project. They will also only apply to projects with
a total cost of more than $50 million.
In drawing up the Principles, the ten banks received “extensive advice” from
the IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank.
The banks are: ABN Amro, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Lyonnais, Credit Suisse
First Boston, HypoVereinsbank, Rabobank, Royal Bank of Scotland, WestLB and
Westpac. Beale expects that another six banks will sign up to the Principles
within two months, and that around 25-30 will have adopted them within the next
year.
“This will become the de facto standard for the industry,” he added.
Environmental and social activist groups were consulted in drawing up the Principles.
Some were “amazed and pleased, and others would like us to go further” said
Pam Flaherty, head of environment and community relations at Citigroup.
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Official Adopters
ABN AMRO Bank N.V. – EPFI
Absa Bank Limited – EPFI
Access Bank – EPFI
ANZ – EPFI
Arab African International Bank – EPFI
ASN Bank NV – EPFI
Banco Bradesco – EPFI
Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay – EPFI
Banco do Brasil – EPFI
Banco Galicia – EPFI
Banco Santander – EPFI
Bancolombia S.A. – EPFI
BankMuscat – EPFI
Bank of America – EPFI
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ – EPFI
Barclays plc – EPFI
BBVA – EPFI
BES Group – EPFI
BMCE Bank – EPFI
BMO Financial Group – EPFI
BNP Paribas – EPFI
Caixa Econômica Federal – EPFI
Caja Navarra – EPFI
Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank – EPFI
CIBC – EPFI
CIFI – EPFI
Citigroup Inc. – EPFI
CORPBANCA – EPFI
Credit Suisse Group – EPFI
Dexia Group – EPFI
DnB Nor – EPFI
EFIC – EPFI
EKF – EPFI
Eksportfinans ASA – EPFI
Export Development Canada – EPFI
FirstRand Bank Ltd – EPFI
FMO – EPFI
Fortis Bank NV/SA – EPFI
HSBC Group – EPFI
Industrial Bank Co., Ltd – EPFI
ING Group – EPFI
Intesa Sanpaolo – EPFI
Itau Unibanco S/A – EPFI
JPMorgan Chase – Associate
KBC – EPFI
KfW IPEX-Bank – EPFI
la Caixa – EPFI
Lloyds Banking Group Plc – EPFI
Manulife – EPFI
Mizuho Corporate Bank – EPFI
Millennium bcp – EPFI
National Australia Bank – EPFI
Nordea – EPFI
Nedbank Group – EPFI
Rabobank Group – EPFI
RBC – EPFI
Scotiabank – EPFI
SEB – EPFI
Societe Generale – EPFI
Standard Bank Group – EPFI
Standard Chartered Bank – EPFI
SMBC – EPFI
TD Bank Financial Group – EPFI
The Royal Bank of Scotland – EPFI
UniCredit Bank AG – EPFI
Wells Fargo & Company – Associate
WestLB AG – EPFI
Westpac Banking Corporation – EPFI
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World Bank/IFC Links
World Bank Guidelines and Criteria Referenced in the Equator Principles
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Sector-Specific EHS Guidelines
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