Maybank has designed its own Sustainable Product Framework (SPF) – the “first” by a Malaysian bank – “to enable greater development of green, social and sustainable products.”
The framework, which will support the Group’s commitment of ‘Mobilizing RM50 billion in Sustainable Finance by 2025’, will be “implemented Group-wide across Islamic and conventional products effective 1 September 2022.” In keeping with best practices adopted by global peers, this framework covers products offered “under corporate lending, debt and equity capital markets, trade financing, retail financing, insurance, asset and wealth management, derivatives and deposits.”
The main aim of the framework is “to help Maybank’s business teams have clarity in developing green, social and sustainable products by looking at the intended use of the proceeds from the product or solution offered, and whether it meets the Group’s sustainable standards throughout its life-cycle.”
Chairman of Maybank, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said that the Bank has taken “a leadership position by introducing such a framework into its business to allow for products and solutions to be designed based on the readiness and needs of its large customer base covering retail, non-retail and large corporates.” Group President & CEO of Maybank, Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli said Maybank understands the responsibility “it bears in channeling capital towards projects that can help create a positive impact on the environment or that drive a positive social agenda.”
He added:
“Many of our customers are at different stages of the sustainability journey. We want to support them through this long-term journey and for that, we not only need to be clear ourselves on what is defined as sustainable finance, but also know how to work with our customers to offer them dedicated sustainable, sustainably-linked or transitionary solutions based on their needs.”
He further noted:
“As a leading financial institution in ASEAN and in line with our aspiration to be a regional ESG leader, we want to be able to drive sustainable financing through our regional operations in a more meaningful and impactful manner. This has led us to draw clear definitions of green, social and transition activities to guide our risk, business and sales teams on eligible sustainable financing and solutions. We hope that by giving our teams the right tools and clarity on perimeters of sustainable financing, this can expedite the growth of timely ESG financing solutions over the near term as well as enhance our efficiency in turnaround time for processing of these solutions,”
The SPF outlines methodologies and procedures “to classify and report financial products and services offered by Maybank as sustainable.” It also “provides classification logic, eligibility criteria, verification processes and exclusion criteria, among others, for products to be recognized as sustainable finance.” The framework also “specifies qualifying transition elements for various hard to-abate sectors in line with International Capital Markets Association’s Climate Transition Finance Handbook and the decarbonization pathway set by Transition Pathway Initiative.”
The SPF is “applicable to all financial products and services that integrate ESG criteria into business or investment decisions to bring about sustainable development outcomes or contribute positively to the achievement of the Paris Agreement goals and United Nations-Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG).”
For more details on this update, check here.