News

• First Chinese bank signs on to Equator

  01 December 2008

  China's Industrial Bank has become the country's first financial institution to sign up to the Equator Principles, a landmark voluntary code for managing environmental and social risk in project finance deals.

• Citi, JP Morgan slash SRI research

  01 December 2008

  Two US investment banks have axed dedicated environmental and social equity investment research, as part of wider cost-cutting measures.

• BoA, HSBC?exit businesses on green grounds

  01 December 2008

  Bank of America has received praise from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) for a decision to pull out of funding mountain-top removal mining in the US, while HSBC has announced it intends to terminate relationships with 30% of its clients in the forestry sector in high-risk countries for failing to comply with its environmental and social policies.

• Bush administration abandons plans to loosen NSR

  01 December 2008

  The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has dropped a proposal that would have allowed some existing power plants to expand without installing new pollution controls, surprising environmentalists who have battled for years against the planned rule change.

• World Bank issues first 'green' bond

  01 December 2008

  The World Bank has issued its first bond where the proceeds will be directly invested in climate change-related projects. The bond is the first product of a wider Bank effort, in collaboration with large institutional investors, to direct large-scale institutional money towards tackling climate change.

• Sarasin and UFG to launch French fund manager

  01 December 2008

  Bank Sarasin and UFG Group plan to launch a socially responsible asset management company in France at the beginning of 2009.

• PRI, EAI launch research database

  01 December 2008

  The UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Enhanced Analytics Initiative (EAI) are to create a database of environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused investment research.

• First close for CCC property fund

  01 December 2008

  UK-based boutique investment bank Climate Change Capital has made a first close of £50 million of its commercial property fund.

• Fink launches $5bn environmental asset manager

  01 December 2008

  Hedge fund supremo Stanley Fink is backing the launch of an environmental investment manager that hopes to raise $5 billion over the next five years.

• Credit Suisse, Invesco named and shamed on responsible investment

  01 December 2008

  Credit Suisse and Invesco are at the bottom of a responsible investment league table of 30 of the largest fund managers operating in the UK, compiled by campaign group FairPensions.