UOB (SGX: U11) recently launched a Green and Sustainable Deposits solution for its corporate and institutional clients, which is reportedly “the first such product in Singapore offered by a local bank.” The solution was “piloted with GIC.”
Under this solution, the deposits are “deployed to green loans under UOB’s sustainable finance frameworks.”
The frameworks cover financing solutions “for eligible assets and activities that meet specific ESG criteria within green real estate, renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart city infrastructure and the circular economy.” All projects financed under the Bank’s sustainable finance frameworks “are aligned with the UN SDGs.”
The minimum deposit size for the solution “is S$10 million and it is open to companies globally.” Companies will “earn market interest rates on their cash deposits.”
A key feature of the Green and Sustainable Deposits solution “is an annual report that will be provided to companies on the environmental impacts their deposits have made.” For example, companies can “see which industries to which their deposits have been channelled via UOB’s sustainable financing.”
At the same time, the report will also “reflect the greenhouse gas emissions avoided and the corresponding effects, such as the equivalent number of tree seedlings planted and the number of cars removed from the road.”
With the report, companies will be able “to quantify their contributions to sustainable development and use the information for their own sustainability reporting.”
Ms Lim Lay Wah, Head of the Global Financial Institutions Group, UOB, said:
“Our Green and Sustainable Deposits solution gives our clients an opportunity to put their money where it matters. It provides direct involvement in the financing of meaningful sustainability projects globally. We thank GIC for placing their trust in us. At the same time, we welcome other like-minded organisations to integrate responsible financing into their businesses and join us on this sustainability journey.”
UOB’s sustainable finance solutions, “including the Green and Sustainable Deposits solution, are housed under the Bank’s sustainable finance umbrella frameworks.”
They include “the UOB Sustainable Finance Framework for Green Building Developers and Owners, UOB Smart City Sustainable Finance Framework, UOB Green Financing Framework for Circular Economy and UOB Green and Sustainable Trade Finance and Working Capital Framework.”
These frameworks are “aligned with the Loan Market Association/Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (LMA/APLMA) Green Loan Principles and Sustainability Linked Loan Principles, as well as the International Capital Market Association’s Climate Transition Finance Handbook.”
Ms So Lay Hua, Head of Group Transaction Banking, UOB, said:
“Our sustainability-focused clients are always on a look-out for banking products that can move them closer to their green goals. With our Green and Sustainable Deposits solution, clients can integrate responsible financing across their operations. They can be assured that our sustainable finance frameworks comply with top-in-class global standards.”
Green loans are “a form of financing which fund projects that have a direct impact on the environment.’
As covered, the United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) claims to be “a leading bank in Asia with a global network of around 500 offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.”
Since its incorporation in 1935, UOB has “grown organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions.”
UOB is “rated among the world’s top banks: Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA- by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.” In Asia, UOB operates “through its head office in Singapore and banking subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as branches and representative offices across the region.”
Over more than eight decades, generations of UOB employees “have carried through the entrepreneurial spirit, the focus on long-term value creation and an unwavering commitment to do what is right for our customers and our colleagues.”