OeEB promotes Sustainable Banking Initiative

18 Sri Lankan banks, including OeEB client Nations Trust Bank, signed the "Principles of the Sri Lankan Sustainable Finance Initiative". The banks thereby committed themselves to integrating environmental and social considerations into decision-making processes, respecting human rights principles in their business activities and to promoting financial inclusion and Green Finance.

The aim of the initiative is to ensure and improve sustainability in the projects financed by the participating banks, as well as to improve social conditions for employees as well as environmental conditions in Sri Lanka.

Together with other European development banks, OeEB financed a team of experts hired to help put these principles into practice. In the course of the project, guidelines and case studies for sustainable banking were developed, training measures were implemented in the participating banks and a local expert network as well as a web-based knowledge sharing platform were set up.

In 2019, the Sri Lanka Banks Association (SLBA) - the initiator of the project - received the "Best Sustainable Banking Leadership South Asia" award from Capital Finance International.