Egypt leads international initiative to redefine role of banking sector

The Egyptian banking sector plays a leading role at the international level in developing a new concept for the role of the banking sector in various developmental, and environmental fields. Egypt, through the Arab African International Bank Group, is leading for the second time in a row, in the preparation of internationally accepted principles of responsible banking, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).This aims to emphasise the role of banks towards the environment and society, to reach the sustainable development goals of the Paris Climate Convention and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Arab African International Bank (AAIB) has been leading a core working group, responsible for issuing the guidelines for the application of these principles, in collaboration with Piraeus Bank.The bank was also selected to lead a new group, in collaboration with industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and Piraeus Bank.The Group’s tasks include finalising the principles of responsible banking, and drafting standards for banks to adhere to, and implement those principles. The group is also working on drafting a binding annual report from all signed banks, to assess their performance, and to confirm their commitment to applying the principles.

This comes within the framework of other international practices carried out by the AAIB, where the bank represented Egypt at important international conferences, such as the G20 summit in China, and the Green Finance Group (GFSG), as well as the Conference of the Parties (COP 22), in 2016.

The aim of these efforts is to present the efforts of Egypt and the Egyptian banking sector in sustainable development, and support Egypt’s 2030 vision.

AAIB’s experience and its effective role in sustainability earned it the appreciation from the largest financial institutions.The bank has been named the Best Bank in Sustainable Finance in the Middle East, for the year 2018 by the Euromoney Foundation.