Demand for sustainable finance advice and solutions continue to grow as countries and companies alike look to address climate change and support the transition to a lower-carbon economy on all fronts.
Scotiabank’s work in this space has garnered attention on an international scale as it has been named North America’s Best Bank for Sustainable Finance at the 2022 Euromoney Awards for Excellence.
The Bank has also been named Best Bank in Canada and Best Investment Bank Chile by the magazine in its latest instalment of its annual awards, the definitive awards program for the global banking industry.
“These awards recognize how effectively we have delivered on our global strategy in two of our core markets of Canada and Chile and highlight our efforts to become a leader in sustainable finance,” said Brian Porter, President & Chief Executive Officer, Scotiabank.
It’s the latest recognition the Bank has received for its efforts in sustainable finance. In May, Scotiabank won six awards at the 2022 Global Finance Sustainable Finance Awards. The Bank was also previously recognized by Euromoney in 2020 as Chile’s Best Bank and Latin America’s Best Bank Transformation.
Scotiabank’s Sustainable Finance group within Global Banking and Markets provides advice and solutions to corporate, financial, public sector and institutional clients around the world. The Sustainable Finance group has grown significantly in the last two years and has established itself as a leader in developing innovative sustainable lending, hedging, advisory and underwriting solutions across its footprint. Scotiabank also has a dedicated ESG Equity Research Team.
These awards recognize how effectively we have delivered on our global strategy in our core markets of Canada and Chile and highlight our efforts to become a leader in sustainable finance.
Scotiabank’s work in this space includes supporting Entel Chile’s US$800 million Sustainability Bond, the first sustainability bond from a telecommunications issuer in Latin America, and structuring an up to US$200 million Sustainability Linked Loan and Linked Derivative for Calidda, a leading Peruvian Natural Gas company, which will enable the company to strengthen its ESG strategy.
Within North America, Scotiabank acted as sole Sustainability Structuring Agent on Fortis Inc.’s inaugural CAD$1.3bn Sustainability Linked Loan and also acted as Sole Green Structuring Agent and Joint Bookrunner on AIMCo Realty’s CAD$500mn green bond, launching the issuer’s green financing program.
“It is an honour to be recognized by Euromoney in this important category,” said Jake Lawrence, CEO and Group Head of Global Banking and Markets at Scotiabank. “As a leading bank in the Americas, we are constantly providing innovative sustainable finance advice and solutions for our clients to assist them on their path towards a low-carbon economy. We are proud to play a critical role in driving positive environmental and social impact into the future.”
Sustainable finance is just one part of Scotiabank’s broader sustainability efforts. The Bank recently released its inaugural Net-Zero Pathways Report, which outlines its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions from Scotiabank’s operations by 2030 and net-zero financed emissions by 2050, including interim financed emissions targets and actions for the Bank’s priority high-emitting sectors.
Scotiabank’s Climate Commitments, launched in 2019, include mobilizing $350 billion in capital for climate-related finance by 2030 as the Bank works to reduce the emissions intensity of its lending portfolio, and providing $25 million in community investment over 10 years to support partnerships that enable climate-related systems change and sector decarbonization.