Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)

2023

Top Sustainability Advocates in Asia

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)

Top Sustainability Advocates in Asia

2023

about Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)

“Banking on a better Philippines”

Financing the move to a greener world

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), established in August 1851, is a member of the Ayala Group. As the first bank in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, BPI is one of the first institutions listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

In line with BPI’s vision to ‘Build a better Philippines – one family, one community at a time’, we are committed to Responsible and Sustainable Banking. This means incorporating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into how we conduct our business – how we resource, how we craft the products and services we offer, how we serve our customers, and how we add value to our various stakeholders.

Being a financial institution, BPI has a wide range of economic, environmental, and social (EES) impact areas reached through our arsenal of products and services across various channels. BPI’s sustainability formula emphasizes the need for economic benefits to make EES initiatives truly self-sustaining.

BPI continuously supports the country’s sustainable growth and development through the financing of projects that contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). BPI’s SDG portfolio has grown from PHP600 billion in 2021 to PHP756 billion in 2022, reflecting a 26% growth and accounting for 51% of the Bank’s total corporate and SME portfolio.

In 2022, BPI also disbursed an additional PHP 30.96 billion worth of energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate resilience, and sustainable agriculture projects under our Sustainable Development Finance (SDF) Program, bringing the Bank’s cumulative total to PHP 252 billion. Adding up to 398 projects – an unmatched number in the Philippine banking industry – the Bank’s cumulative disbursements are estimated to reduce GHG emissions by 31 million tCO2e per year.

The Bank also financed the world’s first Energy Transition Financing Facility (ETFF) in 2022, allowing Ayala-led ACEN to repurpose a 246 MW coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas into cleaner technology by 2040, 15 years ahead of the end of its technical life.

BPI also further deepened its reach to underserved and underbanked communities via innovative financing mechanisms. The Bank’s microfinance arm BPI Direct BanKo introduced in 2022 the JFC Agri Loan Financing Program, which is specifically designed for small-scale farmers who formally act as suppliers to BPI corporate client Jollibee Foods Corporation. The financing facility gives small farmers (working on an average land size of 0.6 hectares) access to more affordable financing, as incentivized by a collective repayment rate that rewards on-time payment of amortization. Introduced in late 2022, BanKo has serviced small onion farmers 1 to 2 months ahead of planting season, giving them ample time to source, purchase, and plant their farm inputs (seeds, fertilizers), especially at a precarious time when onion supply in the Philippines is scant. The program facilitated a reliable and sustainable supply chain for JFC benefiting both the farmers and the company and has achieved a remarkable 100% repayment rate among the farmer borrowers.

Demonstrative of the Bank’s leadership in sustainability, BPI has already received 13 of the sustainability-oriented awards year-to-date as of October 2023 – more than most banks in the Asia Pacific Region.

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