KBank to eliminate long-term loan for coal power by 2030

KBank is a signatory of the UN's sustainable financing initiative.

Kasikornbank (KBank) will have completely discharged its existing long-term loan for coal-fired power generation by 2030, as a signatory of the United Nations' sustainable financing initiative.

In line with being a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Banking, the first and only Thai commercial bank to do so, KBank has granted ‘green loans’ to environmentally friendly businesses and has refrained from financing new coal-fired power generation unless there is an energy transition strategy to other low carbon resources.

In 2019, the United Nations Environmental Program Finance Initiative launched the UN Principles for Responsible Banking in a bid to help prevent climate change through sustainable financing. To date, 240 banks from 69 countries has signed the agreement to invest in more sustainable and environmentally-friendly projects.

According to Kattiya Indaravijaya, CEO of KBank, climate change is a high agenda not just for the bank but for the planet.

“KBank’s continuing role that is in line with the UN PRB is its business engagement, which is based on the principles of a Bank of Sustainability. Despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, KBank continues to place emphasis on an environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk assessment together with ensuring that its customers can weather the crisis and press ahead with their businesses and lives amid the ‘new normal’ environment,” Indaravijaya said.