BSP joins greening network
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Tuesday announced its membership to the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), which is part of its initiatives to promote the sustainability agenda in the financial system.
In a statement, the BSP said the NGFS was a network of central banks and supervisors organized to enhance the role of the financial sector in managing climate and other environment-related risks and mobilize capital to support the transition toward a sustainable economy.
“The NGFS membership will strengthen [ the] BSP’s collaboration with counterpart regulators in building awareness and contributing to the effective management and mitigation of the impact of climate and other environment- related risks in the financial sector,” BSP Bangko Sentral Governor Benjamin Diokno was quoted as saying in the statement.
“The Philippines has a lot to share with respect to our country’s experience in coping with calamities and natural disasters,” he added.
The central bank has been involved in building awareness and highlighting the shared accountability of regulators and financial institutions in pursuing the sustainable finance agenda in the industry.
As a recognized champion in this field, the BSP has adopted sustainable central banking as one of its strategic objectives. In this regard, the Bangko Sentral committed to embed sustainability principles in key areas of its operations to the greatest extent possible.
In particular, it highlighted Circular 1085 or the Sustainable Finance Framework it issued in April, which provides high- level expectations on the integration of sustainability principles in the corporate governance, risk management systems, business objectives and operations of banks.
Lenders have three years to integrate sustainable finance into their operations that will protect their businesses from climate change and other environmental and social risks.
“In particular, physical and transition risks arising from climate change could result in significant societal, economic and financial risks affecting the banks and their stakeholders,” Diokno said then.