The sustainable development of man and nature is not only a requirement for protecting the earth's homeland, but also the mission of all walks of life, including the financial industry. In recent years, green finance has played an active role in promoting the green transformation and development of the economy and society, and has long been valued by banks.
At the 2023 ** Financial Work Conference, "green finance" has become the "five major articles" that are clearly proposed to be done well together with "science and technology finance", "inclusive finance", "pension finance" and "digital finance".It shows that green finance is an important direction for the development of the banking industry and the refined allocation of industry resources for a considerable period of time in the future, and is one of the core issues of the industry.
China's banking industry has continuously launched innovative products and refined services in the field of green finance, accumulating rich experience, but also putting forward higher requirements for practitioners. No matter which bank wants to stand out in the current green finance field, it cannot blindly copy the ready-made experience of its peers and engage in "homogeneous competition", but more rely on formulating a practical and effective green finance development strategy, and continue to iterate and optimize in the process of practice, so as to give full play to its differentiated advantages and achieve the unity of green and efficiency.
China CITIC Bank's outstanding performance in recent years is based on this kind of thinking. In order to take the road of green finance in a down-to-earth manner, the bank has issued the "Work Plan for the Construction of Green Bank of China CITIC Bank", and will soon introduce a medium- and long-term development plan for green finance, forming a multi-dimensional ecosystem effect such as "industry-finance synergy", "financial synergy" and "financial and intelligent synergy" at the group level. At China CITIC Bank, from the head office to all branches, the green gene has been deeply integrated into business practice. Green finance is no longer just a business of China CITIC Bank, but has become a way of thinking that "moisturizes things silently".
The practice of "green +" demonstrates responsibility
CITIC Bank's green finance practice is first and foremost the increasing number of green loans issued. According to the semi-annual report, as of the end of June 2023, the balance of green credit of China CITIC Bank was 40068 billion yuan, an increase of 19 percent over the end of the previous year93%, the loan growth rate exceeded the growth rate of the bank's loans. As of the end of the third quarter, the bank's green credit balance rose to 4,2829.2 billion yuan, an increase of 2820%。
On the basis of actively investing in green loans, China CITIC Bank is also striving to expand the scope of green loans in accordance with its own green finance strategyStrive for "precise drip irrigation" to ensure that market entities that meet the requirements receive financial support in a timely mannerVigorously promote the vigorous development of green industries and serve the country's major policies and strategies.
For example, the "8GW photovoltaic materials and modules project" of a solar energy company in Chongqing is a major photovoltaic project invested by a group in Sichuan, which is attracted by Jiangjin District, covering an area of 900 acres and with a total investment of more than 3 billion yuan, which is a green emerging industry supported by the state. After learning of the information, China CITIC Bank Chongqing Branch took the initiative to contact China CITIC Bank Chengdu Branch, Chengdu-Chongqing Twin Cities Efficient Coordination, finalized the cooperation plan, solved the capital needs of enterprises through the issuance of working capital loans in the early stage, and will further deepen cooperation in the later stage to support the construction of enterprise projects.
Not only to serve the green industrial industry, but also to support the construction of "beautiful villages", green finance will not be absent. Taking the Huzhou branch of China CITIC Bank as an example, since 2022, the branch has provided financial support for a number of such projects in the fields of rural environmental protection and green agriculture, practicing the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" and demonstrating the style of CITIC's green finance.
For example, Miaoxi Town, Wuxing District, on the southwestern outskirts of Huzhou City, is the birthplace of Lu Yu's "Book of Tea" and has a profound tea culture. The branch gave credit support to a local enterprise for the development and construction of the town's organic ecological tea garden, which not only expanded jobs, increased farmers' income, and enhanced people's happiness, but also deeply drove the development of the surrounding tourism economy, achieved a double harvest of green finance and tourism industry, and made the excellent traditional Chinese culture glow with vitality in the new era.
An integrated ecosystem that empowers green finance
Green loans are just a small branch on the big tree of green finance, and China CITIC Bank's practice in green finance has already reached a denser branch: the six green finance innovative product matrices jointly created by the head office and its branches, and on this basis, combined with the scenario needs of customers' green development and the development characteristics of green industriesBased on "bank + bank subsidiary + group subsidiary".And with the best departments, industry associations, international organizations, universities and research institutes and other parties to create a "1+N+N" green financial products and service system.
Six green finance innovation product matrices.
On the basis of the matrix,CITIC has leveraged its comprehensive financial advantages and integrated internal and external resources (including leading departments, industry associations, international organizations, universities and research institutes) to build a "Green Finance Comprehensive Service Ecosystem" (hereinafter referred to as the ecosystem), which continuously "empowers" the development of green finance business of CITIC Bank.
Schematic diagram of CITIC's green finance integrated service ecosystem.
The functions of the ecosystem are multifaceted. For example, China CITIC Carbon, an associate subsidiary of China CITIC Bank, has many years of experience in developing voluntary carbon emission reduction assets such as CCER and VCS, and can provide carbon trading matching and consulting services for enterprises, escort corporate carbon trading, and achieve "industry and finance synergy". The "CITIC Carbon Account", a personal carbon inclusive platform based on the green financial system of China CITIC Bank, is the "optimal solution" applied to the retail sector by the ecosystem, and is also an extension of "industry-finance synergy".
On April 22, 2022, Earth Day, the Carbon Account was officially released, becoming the first individual carbon emission reduction account led by a domestic bank, and an important part of China CITIC Bank's green financial services for retail customers. Since its launch one and a half years ago, after continuous iterative upgrades, scenario expansion and function optimization, the "CITIC Carbon Account" has now achieved carbon emission reduction accounting covering a total of 13 financial scenarios and personal life scenarios covering credit and debit cards.
In April this year, CITIC Carbon Account launched "Green**" for the first time to realize the assetization and value of individual carbon emission reductions, and further promote the transformation of the public to green and low-carbon consumptionLet every user "reduce carbon" clearly, and create real value for themselves while reducing carbon and protecting the earth. In October this year, the Credit Card Center of China CITIC Bank announced that it would cooperate with China UnionPay to open up the "CITIC Carbon Account" and UnionPay's "Low Carbon Plan" services, realizing the interconnection and mutual recognition of carbon accounts in the financial industry for the first time, and further providing users with a diversified green and low-carbon consumption experience.
As of November 2023, the number of "CITIC Carbon Account" accounts has exceeded 8 million, and the cumulative carbon emission reduction has exceeded 7,000 tons, gradually becoming a "personal green account" for the majority of users. With its outstanding performance in green finance innovation and practice, the "CITIC Carbon Account" won many awards such as the "Global Green Finance Award Innovation Award" at the 3rd International Finance Forum (IFF), the "Green Finance Pioneer Innovation Award" and the "2023 Banking ESG Model Case of the Year" by the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Finance Society, demonstrating the innovation and leadership of CITIC Bank in green finance practice.
In addition to the retail field, the ecosystem has a broader role in "industry-finance synergy", and this efficiency not only comes from the cooperation within the group, but also from the "same frequency resonance" inside and outside the group. For example, Xinrun Fulian, which was established in July 2020 and jointly founded by three world-class industry giants including CITIC Group, can use artificial intelligence to provide enterprises with automated carbon footprint calculation, and connect with China CITIC Bank to jointly help enterprises cross the threshold of "carbon tariff", help enterprises better integrate with the world, and gain a greater voice in "going global".
The "industry-finance synergy" of the ecosystem does not stop thereInstead, it extends to the upstream to achieve "green, starting from the source". Taking CITIC Pacific, the group's investment platform, as an example, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Xinli Energy, has built a 4*50 MW tail gas comprehensive utilization power generation project in Hami, Xinjiang, using the combustible, explosive and polluting waste gas generated by the upstream coal grading and quality classification project for power generation, which is a comprehensive energy utilization project supported by the relevant national energy conservation and emission reduction industrial policies, and the electric energy provided is undoubtedly in the category of "green electricity", and at the same time, it also gives full play to the resource advantages of industrial customers to provide customers with green power supply +Financial services truly integrate green into the blood of banking business.
In addition to "industry-finance synergy", in the practice of green finance, China CITIC Bank also relies on the license advantages of CITIC Financial Holding Group, coordinates the assistance and cooperation of various brother financial units within the group, and provides green customers with multi-faceted financial services by means of "financial synergy", and works together to actively convey the green value of the CITIC brand.
Taking the Zhengzhou branch of China CITIC Bank as an example, according to public reports, the branch has achieved a capital market financing scale of more than 5 billion yuan through collaboration with the wealth management subsidiary of China CITIC Bank, among which, the branch cooperated with CNCBI, China Securities Construction Investment International and CNCBI Capital to innovatively issue the first green dollar bond of a state-owned enterprise in Henan Province, introducing financial vitality for Henan's economic construction and providing useful reference experience for the whole industry.
The power of the ecosystem,It is not only the integration of business, but also the collision of business and intelligence. In this regard, China CITIC Bank actively integrates the internal and external resources of the group to achieve "financial and intelligent synergy" in the field of green finance and jointly serve the development of green industries.
In June this year, China CITIC Bank and China Carbon Deng held high-level exchanges, and the two sides will carry out all-round cooperation in the fields of green finance and talent training in the future, and jointly provide services for the green industry. In August this year, taking advantage of the establishment of the China Climate Investment and Financing Alliance, China CITIC Bank, CITIC ** and the Beijing Green Exchange signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly provide comprehensive green services of finance + consulting for the market and promote the improvement and professional development of climate investment and financing services. In the future, China CITIC Bank will work with various external think tanks to provide customers with more professional "green financing + consulting" services to achieve the effect of "1+1>2".
Conclusion
In the era of green finance, in the face of the new mission of financial institutions, China CITIC Bank has cultivated its internal skills, actively sought internal and external support, maximized the efficiency of the ecosystem, expanded and strengthened the green finance business, fulfilled its responsibilities as a central enterprise, and served the national green strategy and the actual needs of enterprises, while realizing the growth of the bank's own benefits, creating a "win-win" situation for the environment, customers and banks, serving the sustainable development of the country, and setting an example for the financial industry in the new era to contribute to the "dual carbon" goal.
Disclaimer] The content of the article is for research and Xi purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice.