'Active Participation in Climate Crisis Response' KB Kookmin Bank Joins the 'Equator Principles'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] KB Kookmin Bank announced on the 4th that it has joined the 'Equator Principles' to establish an environmental and social risk management system and fulfill responsibilities for financial institutions.

The Equator Principles are a voluntary agreement among global financial institutions not to provide financial support if large-scale development projects involve environmental destruction or human rights violations. The scope of application includes project financing (PF) of USD 10 million or more and corporate loans of USD 50 million or more.

Currently, 115 financial institutions from 37 countries participate, and since large-scale development projects often take place in developing countries near tropical rainforests around the equator, the agreement is named the 'Equator Principles.' Financial institutions adopting the Equator Principles occupy more than 70% of the emerging market PF loan market.

KB Kookmin Bank declared its intention to join the Equator Principles in August last year and has been preparing a step-by-step process including ▲ benchmarking overseas financial institutions and conducting GAP analysis ▲ establishing a roadmap and deriving improvement tasks ▲ developing manuals and guidelines.

Additionally, KB Kookmin Bank plans to publish an annual report detailing the implementation of the Equator Principles and continuously conduct training and produce educational materials on the Equator Principles for internal employees.

A KB Kookmin Bank official stated, “As a sincere and responsible company, we will actively participate in responding to climate change,” and added, “We will lead ESG management across the financial sector and do our best to create social change and future value.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.