United States : Mongolian Banks Sign Joint Statement of Commitment for Developing Sustainable Banking Practices in Mongolia

Today, the Mongolian banking sector made a public declaration to jointly promote sustainable banking practices in Mongolia . This is part of on-going efforts of the industry to contribute to economic, green and inclusive development in the country. The public declaration was made through the signing of a joint commitment statement by all the 14 Mongolian commercial banks to introduce a sustainable funding framework in the Mongolian banking and financial systems. In May 2013 , the first Mongolian Sustainable Finance Forum was organized in Ulaanbaatar city. The event brought together all Chief Executives of the commercial banks in Mongolia and international development banks to jointly discuss environmental and social issues that are likely to impact Mongolia s long term development goals. The initiative and program was supported by the Government of Mongolia , Ministry of Environment and Green Development , the Bank of Mongolia and Financial Regulatory Committee , who were also present. There was a unanimous agreement to cooperate and the matter of being responsible for economic growth and green and inclusive development was given a great significance. All CEOs of the banks present indicated that the Mongolian banking sector had an important role to play in promoting sustainable development in Mongolia through the loans they provide and the projects they finance in the country. According to the President of the Mongolia Bankers Association , Bold Magvan: This is an important day for Mongolia . Banks are beginning to realize that they can be agents of change to encourage their clients to invest in projects that minimize damage to the Mongolian environment and protect the wellbeing of its people. The signing of the joint statement of declaration is one more positive step in that direction . Accordingly, several concrete actions are being planned to enable banks make informed and socio-environmentally friendly business decisions, to introduce internationally accepted sustainable financing standards into banking operations, to develop and implement certain policies and procedures specifically designed for the banking industry. Understanding of banking customers and the general public about the green development and sustainable financing will also be increased. The initiative to jointly develop the Mongolian Sustainable Finance Initiative was introduced by the Dutch Development Bank (FMO), Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia (TDB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mongolian Bankers Association (MBA) and the Banking and Finance Academy (BFA), and the first Mongolian Sustainable Finance Forum was organized in May 2013 .