Banque Misr pioneering role in transforming into sustainable financing

Banque Misr plays a leading role in achieving sustainable development in Egypt as one of the state-owned and national lender. The bank has dual powers which are represented in supporting the Egyptian economy as well as the government's strategic priorities while preserving its commercial viability.

Thus, the bank has taken many important steps in this regard; maintaining its role as part of the banking institutions in achieving balanced growth with its economic, environmental and social dimensions, to activate the goals of sustainable development and achieve Egypt's Vision 2030.

Banque Misr was keen to be the first state-owned bank to submit reports about its commercial operations in accordance with GRE standards, those standards mean that commercial activities are compatible with the principles of sustainability through governance, human rights, anti-corruption and participation Community and environmental standards, transparency and disclosure.

However, the bank has been keen to join the financial initiative of the United Nations Environment Program to launch the ‘Principles for Responsible Banking’ since 2019; to achieve sustainable development and social and environmental responsibility for institutions, thus becoming one of the list of responsible banks that carry out their work according to the sustainable development goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The Principles have been developed by a core group of 30 Founding Banks through an innovative global partnership between banks and UNEP FI. They provide a single framework for the development of a sustainable banking industry. In doing so, the Principles set out the banking industry’s role and responsibility in shaping a sustainable future and in aligning the banking sector with the objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

They also, importantly, enable a bank to embed sustainability across all its business areas, and to identify where it has the potential to make the most impactful contribution to a sustainable world. They also position a bank to leverage new business opportunities with the emergence of the sustainable development economy.

Furthermore, the initiative sets a framework for a sustainable banking system through financial institutions aligning their business strategy to be in line with the interests of individuals and society, while ensuring that the positive effects are maximized and the negative effects of business are minimized, whether at the level of individuals or societies.

Yet, Banque Misr efforts did not stop there, as it sought to expand green lending, and the most recent loan it obtained to support this file was a $100 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

In appreciation of Banque Misr’s continuous efforts in, it won a number of awards, including the best bank in providing sustainable financing solutions - Africa for the year 2021, from The Digital Banker magazine.