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Bank of Huzhou (2023)
| Signing Date | 24 Jul 2019 |
| Region of Headquarters: | Asia-Oceania |
| Current EPFI Reporting Year/Period: | 2023 |
| Institutional Reporting: | No Report Available |
Please read the important notes and disclaimer for further information on ‘EPFI Reporting’, compliance and publication on the EP website.
Further information on this EPFI may be obtained through the Institutional Reporting hyperlink.
Project Finance Advisory Services
Total number mandated in the reporting period: 0
Project Finance Transactions
Total number that reached Financial Close in the reporting period: 12
| Equator Principles Category | A1 | B2 | C3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sector | |||
| Mining | 1 | ||
| Infrastructure | 1 | 5 | |
| Oil & Gas | |||
| Power | 1 | ||
| Others | 4 | ||
| Region | |||
| Americas | |||
| Europe, Middle East & Africa | |||
| Asia Pacific | 2 | 10 | |
| Country Designation | |||
| Designated Country 4 | |||
| Non Designated Country | 2 | 10 | |
| Both | |||
| Independent Review | |||
| Yes | 2 | ||
| No | 10 | ||
| Totals | 2 | 10 | |
1
Category A – Projects with potential significant adverse environmental and social risks and/or impacts that are diverse, irreversible or unprecedented.
2
Category B – Projects with potential limited adverse environmental and social risks and/or impacts that are few in number, generally site-specific, largely reversible and readily addressed through mitigation measures.
3
Category C – Projects with minimal or no adverse environmental and social risks and/or impacts.
4
Designated Countries are those countries deemed to have robust environmental and social governance, legislation systems and institutional capacity designed to protect their people and the natural environment.
Project-related Refinance & Project-related Acquisition For Project Finance
This information is required under EP4. EP4 applies for those transactions mandated after 1 October 2020 and that have reached Financial Close by the end of the period being reported.
Project Name Reporting For Project Finance (And Project-related Refinance & Project-related Acquisition Finance For Project Finance)
| No. | Project Name | Sector | Project Location(s) | Year of Financial Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Relocation Of The Processing Unit Of The Tuff Mine For Engineering And Construction Purposes | Mining | China | 2023 |
| 2 | Hazardous Waste Resourcefulness Comprehensive Utilization Project | Infrastructure | China | 2023 |
Number of projects that were not disclosed as per the disclosure conditions specified in Annex B of the Principles: 10
Under EP4, project name reporting is required for Project Finance transactions that have reached Financial Close and encouraged for Project-Related Corporate Loans that have reached Financial Close.
Project-Related Corporate Loans
Total number that reached Financial Close in the reporting period: 0
Project-related Refinance & Project-related Acquisition For Project-related Corporate Loans
This information is required under EP4. EP4 applies for those transactions mandated after 1 October 2020 and that have reached Financial Close by the end of the period being reported.
Implementation of the Equator Principles
In recent years, environmental protection, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have received increasing attention globally, and ‘sustainable management’ has become a widely discussed topic among many advanced companies. For the Bank of Huzhou (BOH), ‘sustainability’ has always been our goal. We proposed the strategic goal of building a ‘green bank’ in 2016 and became a signatory of the Equator Principles in July 2019. Meanwhile, we are also a member of UNEP FI and one of the first pilot units of environmental information disclosure of financial institutions in China and the United Kingdom, and we are committed to the close integration of environmental and social protection and corporate social responsibility. We are committed to realizing our sustainability commitments by continuously improving our internal processes and enriching our products and services.
I. Establishment of EP Team
- We set up Green Finance Committee to consider issues related to sustainable development and major environmental risk management.
- Establish Green Finance Department to coordinate the environmental and social risk management of BOH.
- Review and assess the Equator Principles related projects’ environmental and social impacts, and organize environmental information disclosure.
II. Comprehensive System Construction and Management Processes
- Formulate the Management Measures for the Implementation of Equator Principles of BOH.
- Develop the Environmental and Social Risk Management System of BOH.
- Develop Green Credit Management System to intelligently identify Equator Principles projects, enable automatic classification and early warning management of environmental and social risks.
- Bring the ESG rating model online for credit customers to assess the environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) risks of potential transactions.
III. Comprehensive Internal Training
- Bank of Huzhou conducts internal and external training on environmental and social risk management for its employees annually to ensure that front-line staff can properly follow our policies and management procedures as required by the Equator Principles.
- The following training sessions were attended and organized in 2023:
- Participated in the knowledge training on Critical Review of Environmental and Social Risks organized by our partners, the Asian Development Bank and the New Development Bank.
- Participated in a series of relevant training sessions such as Biodiversity and Sustainable Blue Economy Finance organized by the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
- Regularly organized a series of online and offline training for front-office account managers, credit reviewers, risk management personnel, etc. on ‘Management Measures for the Implementation of the Equator Principles of BOH’.
IV. Implementation of the Equator Principles in FY2023
- Professionals in the Green Finance Department undertake the Equator Principles to classify environmental and social risks of projects. For projects with environmental and social risks of Category A, and some Category B projects, independent environmental and social companies will be engaged to assist in due diligence assessment and full process management.
- From [1 January 2023] to [31 December 2023], BOH has conducted Equator Principles applicability judgement for 129 projects, involving a total investment of about RMB 32.25 billion, 129 customers and covering all 17 branches of the Bank. Among them, 12 cases applied the Equator Principles, 10 cases were in Category C and 2 cases were in Category B.