UOB Commits to $30 billion for Sustainability by 2025

A Brief Summary

UOB has increased its sustainable financing aim for 2025 to $30 billion.
The announcement comes after Singapore's third-largest bank achieved its goal of building a $15 billion sustainable financing portfolio by 2023 last year.

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UOB is one of the lenders stepping up their efforts in green finance, which involves using instruments like loans and bonds to fund sustainable or sustainability-related initiatives.

Wee Ee Cheong, the bank's vice chairman and chief executive, announced on Wednesday (Feb 16) that the bank's total assets under management in ESG investments had increased to $9 billion.

"We continue to support our client's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, we became carbon neutral for our footprint through continued focus on energy efficiency and the purchase of renewable energy and carbon credits," said Mr Wee at the bank's results briefing.

Based on loan growth and fee revenue, UOB's fourth-quarter net profit increased by 48% year on year to $1.02 billion.

The U-Energy finance platform for energy efficiency projects and the U-Drive solution for electric car firms and end-users are two of its green efforts.

Mr Wee stated that the bank will continue to look into methods to help clients shift to a low-carbon economy while also decarbonizing its financed emissions (those generated by lending and investment).

DBS increased its sustainable financing aim for 2024 to $50 billion in February of last year, more than doubling its prior target of $20 billion. Since the beginning of 2018, it has executed $39.4 billion in sustainable finance deals.

Meanwhile, OCBC said in June 2020 that by 2025, it wants to increase its sustainable financing portfolio to $25 billion. In the first quarter of 2020, the bank met its aim of $10 billion in sustainable finance for 2022.