Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Yin Hong leads post-doctoral, dissertation students and talks like an academic. She is, in fact, a senior banking executive and is deputy head of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s Urban Finance Research Institute.
“Most banks only look at customer needs, which may include green finance, but we at ICBC look far deeper at green finance, and that includes taking a serious scholarly approach to understanding how green finance impacts society,” Yin says at the Urban Finance Research Institute offices in Beijing. “We look across the spectrum, including energy needs, emission and technology standards and we conduct research that in the end helps not only our customer relations managers but all of China’s green finance sector as a whole.”
Though her research is focused on the theoretical, it has produced very practical and tangible results, including helping ICBC set standards for determining what type of applicants qualify for green finance.
“As a result of our research, ICBC has made green standards a part of the entire process of loan applications, and they are now an integral part of our entire group strategy,” she says.
Her team has used social science research methodology to set up mathematical modelling of risk and credit. Such research has helped the bank to dramatically reduce risk associated with green finance loans.
“What we found is a transparent and scientific approach for all commercial banks to follow for financing green projects,” Yin says, adding that ICBC’s top management have remained highly supportive of her research institute despite the fact that she and her dozens of research staff have not produced a single renminbi in profits for the group.
ICBC’s commitment, under chair Huiman Yi, to Yin and her research group shows its high level of commitment to setting green finance standards not only for the group but for the entire industry.