Ye Yanfei, director general of the policy bureau at the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), is one of the most respected green finance evangelists in China.
His policy research work was crucial to kicking off the green movement in China’s banking industry. He is also actively involved in international collaborations that promote green finance development across borders.
Ye’s contributions to the green industry in China are significant. He was one of the main people behind the green credit guidelines and green credit statistics rules published by the regulator in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The documents are widely recognized as the cornerstones of China’s green finance policy framework, which has helped make China the largest green credit market globally.
More recently, Ye participated in drafting the Guidance on Promoting Investment and Financing to Address Climate Change, a document jointly published by five central government regulators last October. He also pushed for the updating of the statistics framework last year to include the collection of climate-related data in the banking industry.
Ye’s green-related CV is impressive. Between 2016 and 2020, he was co-chairman of the Sustainable Banking Network (SBN) Measurement Working Group, supported by the International Finance Corp.