MUFG Bank, Ltd. (the Bank), a core banking subsidiary of MUFG, today announced the launch of Green Deposits in EMEA, with Unilever as one of the first clients.
MUFG's Green Deposits fund projects that contribute to the improvement of environmental issues and respond to the needs of clients who have a strong interest in the area of ESG. Available in EUR, GBP and USD, Green Deposits allow MUFG EMEA customers to place term deposits with the Bank which are in turn used to effectively finance or refinance eligible assets within an identified subset of MUFG's portfolio of assets that align with the MUFG Green Deposit Framework. These include clean transportation, green buildings, energy efficiency and sustainable water/wastewater management projects.
Multinational consumer goods company Unilever has placed a deposit as one of the first clients.
Vanessa Manning, Head of Transaction Banking EMEA said:
"As a highly rated counterparty with a global network experienced at providing multinational companies with complex working capital and financing solutions, we are delighted to be expanding our offering with the launch of Green Deposits in EMEA.
"We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Unilever as one of our first EMEA clients investing with us and we look forward to working with them on this and other opportunities in the future.
"We are fully committed to supporting our clients in achieving their respective corporate sustainability goals and our new Green Deposits are an example of this. We are also exploring expanding our offerings further, specifically in trade finance solutions, especially given our participation in ICC sustainable standardisation programmes."
Fernando Roccato, Global Treasury Operations Director at Unilever, said:
"Unilever's ambition is to deliver superior performance by building a business that is fit for the future and purpose-led. Through collaboration with key banking partners, we can create new and sustainable financial products that drive positive impact at scale and help us deliver consistent financial results in the top third of our industry.
"The Green Deposits MUFG has launched are a prime example of us working together to find new solutions."
To account for qualifying green activities within the Bank's portfolio, MUFG developed its Green Deposit Framework with support from Sustainalytics, a leading global ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics firm.
MUFG's Green Deposits are a variation of existing global liquidity solutions at MUFG, meaning that clients are not obligated to open additional accounts. Green Deposits are also available in other markets such as North America and APAC.
With the growing emphasis on ESG globally, MUFG is at the forefront of initiatives that add to the growing number of ESG investment options in the market. In line with MUFG's sustainability mission, MUFG has publicly committed to investing a cumulative total of JPY35 trillion into sustainability-related financing globally by 2030, of which 55% of this target, or JPY19.4 trillion, has already been achieved (at 1HFY2022).
In May 2021, MUFG announced its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions in its finance portfolio by 2050 and its own operations by 2030. The Bank is also leading the transition finance taskforce within the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), convened by the United Nations to rally global financial institutions towards supporting net zero carbon emissions. NZBA currently has over 100 financial institutions as members.
*MUFG Credit Ratings - https://www.mufg.jp/english/ir/fixed_income/ratings/index.html
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