London, June 3, 2008—The Financial
Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced the winners
of the 2008 FT Sustainable Banking Awards, with Banco Real of Brazil being
named Sustainable Bank of the Year as well as taking the overall Emerging
Markets prize.
Now in their third year, the awards
recognize banks and other financial institutions that have shown leadership
and innovation in integrating social, environmental, and corporate governance
considerations into their operations.
The program has grown in popularity,
and this year’s winners were selected from a record 182 entries from 129
institutions across 54 countries. Two new categories—Banking at the Bottom
of the Pyramid and Sustainable Investor of the Year—were open to nonbank
financial institutions as well as banks.
The awards were presented at a dinner
at the Dorchester in London, and the event was attended by more than 250
senior bankers and decision-makers in the area of sustainability. Boris
Johnson, the newly elected Mayor of London, was keynote speaker. The event
followed a Sustainable Banking Conference organized by the Financial Times
and IFC.
The 2008 winners and runners-up in each
category are:
Sustainable Bank of the Year
Winner: Banco Real, Brazil
Runner-up: Rabobank, the Netherlands
Sustainable Emerging Markets Bank
of the Year
Winner: Banco Real, Brazil
Regional winner, Africa/Middle East:
Nedbank, South Africa
Regional winner, Asia: YES Bank, India
Regional winner, Eastern Europe: Industrial
Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB)
Regional winner, Latin America: Banco
Real, Brazil
Sustainable Deal of the Year
Winner: BlueOrchard Finance, Switzerland,
and Morgan Stanley, the United States
Runner-up: Glitnir Bank, Iceland
Banking at the Bottom of the Pyramid
Winner: ASA, Bangladesh
Runner-up: Wizzit, South Africa
Sustainable Investor of the Year
Winner: E+Co, the United States
Runner-up: SAM Sustainable Asset Management,
Switzerland
“The winners of the FT Sustainable
Banking Awards are leading the way in meeting combined social, environmental,
and financial goals. With financial institutions around the world reassessing
risk and opportunity under increasingly challenging circumstances, we hope
these awards will continue to encourage more transparent and sustainable
practices in their lending, financing, and investing,” said Lionel Barber,
Editor of the Financial Times.
“The FT Sustainable Banking Awards
have demonstrated that the business case for sustainable banking remains
strong, despite the current economic environment. I am delighted to see
so many strong entries from emerging markets and increased attention on
microfinance investments and products targeting people at the bottom of
the pyramid,” said Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO.
The judging panel, which included leading
figures involved in sustainable finance and development, initially narrowed
down the entries to a short-list of five institutions for each category—and
three banks for each regional sub-category under Emerging Markets Bank
of the Year—before selecting the overall winners.
The judges were:
John Willman, UK Business Editor, Financial
Times (co-chair)
Rachel Kyte, Vice President, Business
Advisory Services, IFC (co-chair)
David Harris, Manager, Responsible Investment,
FTSE Group
Richard Laing, Chief Executive, CDC
Group Ltd
Jonathan Lash, President, World Resources
Institute
Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO, Consultative
Group to Assist the Poor
Tessa Tennant, Co-founder, Association
for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia
Leading consultancy Sustainable Finance
Ltd was technical advisor for the program.
For more details on the FT Sustainable
Banking Conference and Awards, visit www.ftconferences.com/sustainablebanking.
Pictures will be available within 24
hours of the end of the Awards dinner at www.ftconferences.com/sustainablebanking/photographs
For further information, please contact:
Lizzie Allen, Financial Times, London,
+44 (0)20 78734463
E-mail: lizzie.allen@ft.com
Azmar Sukandar, Financial Times, Hong
Kong, +852 2905 5519
E-mail: azmar.sukandar@ft.com
Lucie Giraud, IFC, Washington, D.C.,
+1 (202) 458-4662
E-mail: lgiraud@ifc.org
Notes to Editors:
About the Financial Times
The Financial Times, one of the world’s
leading business newspapers, is recognized internationally for its authority,
integrity, and accuracy. Providing extensive news, comment, and analysis,
the newspaper is printed at 24 sites across the globe, has a daily circulation
of 454,937 (ABC figures, March 2008) and a readership of more than 1.3
million people worldwide. FT.com is one of the world’s leading business
information Web sites, and the internet partner of the FT newspaper. FT.com
is the definitive home for business intelligence on the Web, providing
an essential source of news, comment, data, and analysis for the global
business community. FT.com attracts 6.2 million unique users, generating
48 million page views. FT.com has 101,000 subscribers.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic
growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment,
mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets,
and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments.
IFC’s vision is that poor people should have the opportunity to escape
poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and
mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through syndications and structured
finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided
advisory services in 97 countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
FT Sustainable Banking Awards 2008:
Winner and Runner-up Press contact details
Sustainable Bank of the Year
Winner: Banco Real
Daniela Trolesi
Tel: +55 11 3174 6086
E-mail: daniela.trolesi@br.abnamro.com
Runner-up: Rabobank
Roelina Bolding
Tel: +31 30 216 43 04
E-mail: r.bolding@rn.rabobank.nl
Sustainable Emerging Markets Bank
of the Year
Winner: Banco Real
Daniela Trolesi
Tel: +55 11 3174 6086
E-mail: daniela.trolesi@br.abnamro.com
Winner, Africa / Middle East: Nedbank,
South Africa
Brigitte Burnett, Enterprise Governance
and Compliance
Tel: + 27 11 294 3692
Fax: + 27 11 295 3592
E-mail: BrigitteBu@Nedbank.co.za
Kerri Savin, Group Communications
Tel: + 27 11 295 5672
Fax: + 27 11 294 5672
E-mail: KerriS@Nedbank.co.za
Winner, Asia: YES Bank, India
YES Bank, Somak Ghosh
Tel: +91-22-6669 9050
E-mail: somak.ghosh@yesbank.in
Winner, Eastern Europe: Industrial Development
Bank of Turkey (TSKB)
Canan Eguz, Corporate Communications
Tel: +90 212 334 52 19
E-mail: eguzc@tskb.com.tr
Winner, Latin America: Banco Real, Brazil
Daniela Trolesi
Tel: +55 11 3174 6086
E-mail: daniela.trolesi@br.abnamro.com
Sustainable Deal of the Year
Winner: Blue Orchard Finance / Morgan
Stanley
Blue Orchard
Antonella Notari
Head of Corporate Communication
Tel: +41225964767
Mob: +41794704707
Fax: +41225964799
E-mail: antonella.notari@blueorchard.com
Morgan Stanley
Jennifer Sala
Tel: +1 212 762-6885
E-mail: Jennifer.Sala@morganstanley.com
Runner-up: Glitnir Bank, Iceland
Bjørn Richard Johansen
Managing Director, Corporate Communication
Mob: +47 47 800 100
E-mail: brj@glitnir.no
Banking at the Bottom of the Pyramid
Winner: ASA
Habibur Rahman
Media Relations Officer
Tel: +880 2 8110934-5
E-mail: habib_asa@yahoo.com
Runner-up: Wizzit
Brian Richardson
Tel: +27 - 11 523-5600
Mob: + 27 - 836750171
E-mail: brianr@wizzit.co.za
Sustainable Investor of the Year
Winner: E+Co
Tracy Smith
Tel: 1.973.680.9100
Fax: 1.973.680.8066
E-mail: tracy.smith@eandco.net
Runner-up: SAM Sustainable Asset Management,
Switzerland
Kim-My Schefer, Head of Communications
Tel: +41 44 397 10 02
Mob: +41 79 744 78 07
E-mail: kim-my.schefer@sam-group.com
|