Equator News Coverage
 Banks increase their environmental requirements
 Promoting Greater Responsibility in Project Financing by Natasha Cappon, Canada, Spring, 2008
 China to bring in green loan benchmark, 25 January, 2008
 A Question of Principles, Infrastructure Magazine, by Kimberley Gaskin, June 2007
 Citigroup to scale up its green spending,The Financial Times, 8 May 2007.
 Leaders challenge 'business as usual', Guardian, 6 November 2006
Financial Sector Responsibility
Building a better world (for investors and whales), The Banker, 3 July 2006
Update on the Equator Principles - 2006 Revision, Allens Arthur Robinson, August 2006
The Miami Herald
July 31, 2006.
Building sustainability into syndication, Project Finance - July/August 2006
For Citigroup, Greening Starts With Listening
For people and planet, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 April 2006
Conservation You Can Bank On (Christopher Wright) (PDF - 91k)
'A New Environment', Legal Week 2 February 2006 (Paul Watchman and Charles July of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) (PDF - 2572k)
'Banks Business and Human Rights' (2006) 2 JIBFL 46 (Paul Watchman of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) (PDF - 59k)
 Polluters Clean Up Act to Attract Lenders, The Moscow Times, 12 October 2005
The Equator Principles - guidelines for responsible project financing, Focus, Allens Arthur Robinson, August 2005 (PDF - 122k)
Corporate Green, Washington Post, 11 May 2005
Taking The Earth Into Account, Time Europe, 9 May 2005
Principles in Question, The Banker, March 2005 (PDF - 97k)
Banking on the future, Euromoney Syndicated Lending Handbook 2005, December 2004 (PDF - 38k)
A Matter of Principles, Global Finance, January 2005
Principle Finance, Euromoney, October 2004
Putting principles into practice, Environmental Finance, June 2004
'Greening' of financial sector gathering speed, Financial Times, 4 June 2004
"Equator - Risk and Sustainability," from Project Finance International, 2004 Yearbook. (PDF - 429k)
NGOs Bring Bank Scrutiny Back on Track, Ethical Corporation Online, 2 May 2004
Banks contest ban proposed for coal and oil extraction, Financial Times, 5 April 2004
A Matter of Principal, Project Finance, 3 March 2004
The Equator Principles: a milestone or just good PR?, Global Agenda, 26 January 2004
 Mizuho To Adopt Environmental Standards In Project Financing, CNNfn, 26 October 2003
 Dexia adhère aux "Equator principles", La Tribune, 22 September 2003 (in French)
 Western Banks Set Standards for Eco-Friendly Lending. Japanese Banks Far Behind. NGO Keeping Close Watch, Nikkei, 5 September 2003
A point of principle, Global Finance, July 2003
 Equator Principles — Why Indian Banks Too Should be Guided by Them, The Hindu, 25 July 2003
 Project finance — Standards for Lending, Financial Mail, 25 July 2003
Financiers must meet criteria, Business Day, 14 July 2003
Banks agree new loan guidelines, Ethical Performance, July 2003
Principled finance?, Project Finance, June 2003 Cover Story
Banks club together to turn their notes green, The Age, 22 June 2003
Nikkei Financial Daily, 11 June 2003 (in Japanese - PDF)
 Banks' green pledge earns mixed response, swissinfo, 10 June 2003
Greening the banks, The Economist, 7-13 June 2003
Leading banks sign up to project finance principles, Environmental Finance, 6 June 2003
Bancos adotam princípios de responsabilidade social, Valor Econômico, 5 June 2003 (in Portuguese)
 Zehn Banken werden zu Umweltschützern, Die Tageszeitung, 5 June 2003 (in German)
 Major Banks Endorse Equator Principles, The Peninsula, Qatar, 5 June 2003
The 'Equator Principles' adopted by leading banks, The Times of India, 5 June 2003
Westpac's principles, Australian Financial Review, 5 June 2003
 Loan rules with an eye on nature, International Herald Tribune, 5 June 2003
10 global banks endorse socially responsible "Equator Principles", Agence France Presse, 5 June 2003
"THE FLIP SIDE", CNN, 4 June 2003 (transcript)
 IFC Head's Remarks at Equator Principles Press Conference, 4 June 2003
Banks sign up for responsible lending accord, Financial Times, 4 June 2003
Banks Accept Environmental Rules, The Wall Street Journal, 4 June 2003
Banks in drive for project principles, Financial Times, 9 April 2003
Four banks adopt IFC agreement, Financial Times, 7 April 2003
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Mizuho To Adopt Environmental Standards In Project Financing
CNNfn, October 26, 2003
By Natsuo Nishio, Dow Jones Newswires; Edited by Hugh Lawson
TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Japan's biggest banking group is going green.
In a move to alleviate the risk of criticism from protest groups and to show its willingness to actively respond to global environmental and social issues, Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. said Monday it will adopt the so-called "Equator Principles" for project financing.
The wholesale banking unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (8411.TO) will be the first Japanese bank to adopt the strict, but voluntary, environmental and social standards developed by the World Bank's International Finance Corp.
In June, Citigroup Inc. (C) and nine other leading global banks agreed to implement the Equator Principles, and a total of 17 banks have so far declared their adoption of the quasi-international standards.
Mizuho Corporate Bank will now verify that its borrowers comply with environmental and social-impact standards when financing dam, power plant, pipeline and other infrastructure projects, mainly in developing countries.
For projects that may have serious negative social and environmental effects, Mizuho will require that borrowers establish environmental management plans and supervise their compliance.
Although the adoption of stricter standards may negatively affect Mizuho's bidding in project finance in the near term, it will eventually be to the bank's advantage, said Satoshi Yoshitake, an official at Mizuho Corporate Bank's project finance division.
"The 17 banks (that have announced the adoption of the Equator Principles) already have a combined market share of around 70% in global project finance," Yoshitake said.
Once the World Bank principles become the de facto standard, "other banks may then face the risk of not being able to participate in large-scale syndicated loans."
Mizuho ranked sixth last year in arranging global project financing. With its inclusion, the lenders that implement the environmental standards will control about 80% of the global project financing business.
Other Japanese megabanks are likely considering following suit.
The move by Mizuho will be significant for borrowers as well, given the bank's far-flung network of corporate borrowers. Mizuho extends loans to 70% of listed Japanese companies and serves as main lender to 40% of them.
Although the strict environmental and social-impact standards will likely entail higher costs for companies conducting projects overseas, the borrowers may welcome the emergence of one set standard developed by the World Bank, Yoshitake said.
In recent years, non-governmental organizations and other environmental activist groups have attacked not just corporations but also banks for financing projects that harm the environment and social standards in developing nations. More and more institutional investors have also begun to emphasize the importance of "corporate social responsibility" in making investments.
© Copyright 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Institutions Which Have Adopted the Equator Principles
ABN AMRO Bank, N.V.
ANZ
Banco Bradesco
Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay
Banco do Brasil
Banco Galicia
Banco Itaú
BankMuscat
Bank of America
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
BMO Financial Group
Barclays plc
BBVA
BES Group
Calyon
Caja Navarra
CIBC
CIFI
Citigroup Inc.
CORPBANCA
Credit Suisse Group
Dexia Group
DnB Nor
Dresdner Bank
E+Co
EKF
Export Development Canada
Financial Bank
FMO
Fortis
HBOS
HSBC Group
HypoVereinsbank
ING Group
Intesa Sanpaolo
JPMorgan Chase
KBC
KfW IPEX-Bank
la Caixa
Lloyds TSB
Manulife
MCC
Mizuho Corporate Bank
Millennium bcp
National Australia Bank
Nordea
Nedbank Group
Rabobank Group
Royal Bank of Canada
Scotiabank
SEB
Societe Generale
Standard Chartered Bank
SMBC
TD Bank Financial Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland
Unibanco
Wachovia
Wells Fargo
WestLB AG
Westpac Banking Corporation
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World Bank/IFC Links
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IFC Guidelines and Policies Referenced in the Equator Principles
Sector-Specific EHS Guidelines
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