ComBank declared as leader in climate financing for second straight year

Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge (second from left) receives the award from IFC FIG Portfolio Manager for South Asia Joon Young Park in the presence of Commercial Bank Chief Operating Officer S. Prabagar (extreme left) and IFC Country Manager for Sri Lanka Alejandro Alvarez de la Campa

• Records highest number of climate finance transaction in FY22 in South Asia

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has reaffirmed Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s status as the South Asian financial institution to record the highest number of climate finance transactions in the fiscal year 2022, awarding Sri Lanka’s benchmark private sector bank the prestigious Climate Assessment for Financial Institutions (CAFI) award in respect of the year.

The CAFI award for climate reporting was conferred on Commercial Bank for successfully completing 314 climate finance transactions that met the IFC’s climate eligibility criteria. The CAFI tool was used to assess climate eligibility and measure the climate impact of investments.

The only Sri Lankan bank to be accorded this accolade, Commercial Bank won the same award for the fiscal year 2021 as well, alongside the climate impact award that acknowledged the bank’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. 
Commenting on this recognition, Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge said, “This award positions Commercial Bank as a consistent leader in climate financing and attests to our commitment to sustainable financing, which is at the heart of responsible banking.

 We will continue to promote sustainable economic growth in this region and address the challenges posed by climate change through our green financing and climate financing initiatives.”

IFC Global Director Financial Institution Group Tomasz Telma said, “We are pleased to recognise our clients’ dedication and transparency in reporting their climate investments. CAFI is a critical platform for reporting progress in the fight against climate change by linking finance to impact, which ensures that the financial services industry can measure and quantify the climate impact of their investments using transparent and globally recognised methodologies.”

The IFC awarded Commercial Bank after tracking data on climate financing submitted by its clients in the South Asia region using CAFI – a digital, web-based platform introduced by the IFC to help banks and other financial institutions assess climate eligibility and to measure the development impact of the projects they finance.

Commercial Bank uploads data on its green projects and green loans and leases granted to the CAFI platform as a practice. Using CAFI, the bank can verify whether a project meets internationally agreed-upon criteria for climate finance and ensure that climate metrics and eligibility criteria stay in line with the IFC’s definitions for climate-related activities and the common principles for climate mitigation finance tracking.

The bank finances projects that focus on renewable energy, energy and resource efficiency, waste management, emission reductions, smart agriculture, green buildings among others, under its green financing activities. The bank’s green financing is geared towards the fight against climate change, meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 12: Affordable and Clean Energy and Responsible Consumption and Production.

Commercial Bank was a pioneer in adopting a social and environmental screening process in its lending activities and was the first bank in Sri Lanka to develop a green financing taxonomy. It also revolutionised digital banking by introducing features in its Flash mobile application to measure and offset customer impact on the environment.

The IFC introduced the CAFI Climate Impact Awards in 2021 to recognise, by region, the financial institutions that have achieved the largest disbursements, largest expected GHG reductions, highest number of climate finance transactions booked and those that exceeded their transaction target by the largest percentage. The CAFI Awards acknowledge IFC financial sector clients’ investments going into climate activities and the responsibility shown to report on their climate commitments. 

To date, the IFC clients have used CAFI to report more than US $ 9.9 billion of climate loans disbursed, annual avoidance of more than 24.7 million tonnes of GHG emissions, 41.4 terawatt hours of renewable energy generated, 2.4 million square meters of green area built and 2.3 million cubic meters of water saved.