Banks show less attention to green financing

DOT Desk: Banks showed less attention to green financing in last quarter when there was constant emphasis on sustainable practices and a conscious need for adopting cleaner energy, reports The Daily Observer.
Green finance has been decreased by 1.59 per cent in July-September quarter than the previous one and the number of financial institutions involved in green finance is not increasing, Bangladesh Bank says in its latest publication on banks’ performance on green financing.
Total sanction of green finance by banks and FIs was 1.61 per cent of sanction of total finance and total disbursement of green finance was 1.25 per cent of total funded loan disbursement, they said.
Green finance is a global issue that has come up for deliberations at global climate summits. This was evident at the 24th Conference of Parties (CoP) on climate change held at Katowice in Poland recently.
But banks utilized only Tk 10.52 million as grant and Tk 0.15 million taka as concessional loan from this fund during July-September quarter, which is much lower compared to the previous quarter.
And only 41 banks out of 57 and 17 FIs out of 34 have conducted environmental risk rating in the reporting quarter, Bangladesh Bank report says noting that the number of projects was 12,263.
However, 56 banks out of 57 have at least one online branch and 46 banks have introduced internet banking facility up to September, 2018, the BB report says.
“BB is trying to play a significant role by monitoring the whole scenario and by taking appropriate policy initiatives”, central bank officials said noting that banks faced pressure to keep margin last year driven by lower interest income and higher cost of operations.
With about 1.2 billion more people expected to live in Asian cities in 35 years, the cities have the potential to attract more than USD 20 trillion in climate-related investments in six key sectors by 2030, according to a recent report by International Finance Corporation.
“With its plans, policies and projects, the Asia Pacific region has the highest climate smart investment potential of any region in the world, with by far the biggest opportunity in green buildings, estimated at a $17.8 trillion opportunity by 2030,” the report said.
In the Asia Pacific region, the investment potential in green buildings is USD 17.8 trillion; in waste USD 104 billion; public transport USD 352 billion; renewable energy USD 407 billion; climate-smart water USD 571 billion and electric vehicles USD 783 billion, the report estimates.