How PH Banks Are Steering Sustainable Finance Forward

In a financial landscape where profit and purpose are increasingly intertwined, the banking sector is emerging as a critical enabler of sustainability.

- By KEISHA TA-ASAN

For institutions like BDO Unibank and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), sustainable finance is not just a target but a trajectory.

Sy-led BDO continues to take a more evolutionary path. Rather than set a fixed peso target, BDO president and CEO Nestor Tan said that the country's largest lender is focused on increasing the share of sustainable loans over time. The goal is to guide more clients into aligning their businesses with environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.

"We don't have an absolute number. Our target is a time-series one where a higher percentage of our loans are part of the sustainable portfolio. Most of our borrowers qualify, but only if they take, as I call it, the healthier choice," Tan said.

BDO funded a total of P1.04 trillion in sustainable finance as of end-2024, the largest of any Philippine bank to date. This is higher by 15.8 percent than the P898 billion loans disbursed in 2023.

The funds have been channeled into projects ranging from renewable energy and green infrastructure to water sanitation, micro-finance as well as gender-focused enterprise support.