Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) expects to achieve its goal to grow its sustainability-linked loans to P1 trillion earlier than 2026 target.
BPI chief finance officer and chief sustainability officer Eric Luchangco said in a news briefing about P900 billion of its P2.3 trillion total loan book is already tied to sustainability-related projects.
“I think there is a good chance we can exceed that P1 trillion goal we had set in 2021 for us to achieve by 2026,” Luchangco said.
Luchango said while the bank would likely achieve the P1-trillion target ahead of schedule, its other goal of having 50 percent of its total loan book linked to sustainability-related projects would be more challenging to achieve.
“Between those two goals, I think that one will be more challenging because the non-sustainability link side is also going well,” he said.
Bulk of BPI’s sustainability lending is concentrated in renewable energy projects, which tend to be larger in size.
Other projects receiving sustainability-linked funding include energy efficiency upgrades, water treatment, pollution control, sustainable agriculture and social initiatives like lending to small and micro-entrepreneurs.
BPI has funded 485 projects under its sustainable development finance program.
BPI is in the middle of raising at least P5 billion from issuance of 1.5-year peso-denominated fixed-rate Supporting Inclusion, Nature, and Growth (SINAG) Bonds.
“We cut the offer period early, which means that there’s basically more demand than what we were able to serve,” he said.
Luchangco also reported that the bank was working on a blue bond framework, which would allow it to issue bonds for ocean-related or water-focused sustainability projects.
The bank aims to finalize the framework for blue bonds within the year, but the timing of the issuance would depend on funding requirement, said Luchangco.
