With tenors that range from 1 to 12 months, the new product has been designed to assist MUFG’s commercial and corporate clients in meeting their environmental objectives.
Australia is the first market to launch this MUFG product outside of the US (in February 2021), with other markets across APAC and EMEA expected to follow in the very near future.
Green Deposits allow customers to place term deposits with the Bank, which are in turn used to fund qualifying Green Loans for projects such as clean transportation, green buildings, energy efficiency and sustainable water/wastewater management projects, among others.
“We are pleased to invest cash under MUFG’s Green Deposits Framework in alignment with our sustainability agenda,” said Michael Momdjian, General Manager Treasury, Tax and Insurance at Sydney Airport.
In order to capture and account for qualifying green activities within the Bank’s portfolio, MUFG has developed its Green Deposits Framework with support from Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company, and a leading provider of ESG research and data, to ensure alignment with industry practices and standards for the Bank’s clients.
“MUFG is privileged to work with Sydney Airport as its first Green Deposits client since launching this latest ESG initiative. We can now help our customers deploy their funds against qualifying green loans, thereby demonstrating their commitment to green initiatives by investing in ESG focused projects,” commented Vivek Batra, Managing Director, Head of Transaction Banking for Asia and Oceania.
“ESG is a key focus for MUFG Group and we are proactively working with our customers to deliver on joint ESG aspirations. This milestone is a significant step forward in this direction and we are excited by the reaction and the large opportunity from this proposition,” he added.
“Green Deposits meet the needs of clients that want to ensure their cash deposits are being used to greater environmental effect,” said Rob Ward, Head of ESG Finance for MUFG Oceania.
“With the ever-growing emphasis on ESG globally, we are proud to be at the forefront of initiatives that add to the growing number of ESG investment options in the market,” he added.
In line with its sustainability mission, MUFG has publicly committed to investing a cumulative total of JPY35 trillion into sustainability related financing globally by 2030, of which close to 30 per cent of this target, or JPY10.4 trillion, has already been achieved (FY2019 to FY2021 1H).
In May 2021, MUFG announced its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions in its finance portfolio by 2050 and its own operations by 2030. The Bank is also leading the transition finance taskforce within the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), convened by the United Nations to rally global financial institutions towards supporting net zero carbon emissions. NZBA currently has over 100 FIs as members.
