Ratings and analytics firms rank BPI first in sustainability among Philippine banks

Makati City, Philippines – Three of the world’s most respected ratings and analytics firms recently gave the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) the highest marks among Philippine banks in terms of sustainability and ethical impact.

MSCI, S&P Global, and Sustainalytics gave BPI the highest scores in the local banking industry in the 2021 Environmental, Social, and Governance Ratings (ESG Ratings). ESG Ratings generally measure a company’s performance in initiatives and risk management practices related to environmental protection, social responsibility, and good governance.

“Sustainability has always been a high priority at BPI,” President and CEO Jose Teodoro ‘TG’ K. Limcaoco said. “We are committed to responsible banking and will continue to champion sustainability towards a better Philippines.

MSCI gave the Bank a rating of BBB (best possible rating: AAA) while S&P Global gave the Bank a rating of 51 (best possible rating: 100). Following an inverted rating scale, Sustainalytics gave the Bank a rating of 27 (best possible rating: 0).

BPI is the first and only Philippine bank to give a time-bound commitment to zero out its coal energy generation portfolio by 2032. It is also the only Philippine bank to-date that has been able to perform an environmental risk assessment that uses the HazardHunterPH system to identify and score risk exposures of the bank’s employees, branches, and machines (ATMs/CAMs) as well as client business and collateral locations to natural hazards such as earthquakes, flooding, and volcanic eruptions. HazardHunterPH is a product of GeoRisk Philippines, a multi-agency initiative led by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS).

As of end-2020, 47% of the Bank’s loan portfolio contributed to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, up from 35% as of end-2019. It is the only Philippine Bank that provides free technical consultation as a part of its loan package, aimed at ensuring that the clients’ sustainability projects will be successful and profitable.

MSCI is a provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. S&P Global is a provider of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data for the capital and commodity markets worldwide. Focused more on sustainability, Sustainalytics is an independent ESG and corporate governance research, ratings, and analytics firm that supports investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies.

An MSCI ESG Rating is designed to evaluate a company’s resilience to long-term and material ESG risks. S&P Global’s ESG evaluation methodology is based on in-depth engagement with company management to assess significant ESG impacts on the company, past, present and future.