Recently, Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), the international leading provider of benchmark indexes, released the results of the 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Ratings assessment, in which the Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) received AA, industry leader in the banking sector.

According to the report of MSCI ESG ratings, PSBC is leading the industry in terms of management performance in the key issues such as financing environmental impact, access to finance, human capital development and corporate governance. The fact that its rating has risen from A to AA in MSCI ESG Ratings reflects not only the achievements PSBC has made after years of continuous efforts in the field of ESG but also the high recognition of PSBC’s ESG management by the international market.

In recent years, PSBC has attached great importance to ESG management and capability building, thereby promoting the continuous improvement of its ESG management and practice. It was successively awarded the honorary title “Advanced Organization in Green Bank Evaluation” by the China Banking Association, and the 2023 Best ESG Practice among A-share Companies and the 2023 Best Practice of Digital Transformation among Listed Companies by the China Association for Public Companies. PSBC has signed up for the United Nations Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative and become the first large state-owned commercial bank in China to do so.

In terms of green and low-carbon development, PSBC has effectively developed sustainable and green finance as well as climate financing, supported biodiversity conservation, and actively explored transition finance and just transition, striving to build itself into a first-class green, inclusive, climate-friendly and eco-friendly bank. As of the end of Q3 in 2024, the balance of its green loans stood at 732.096 billion yuan (about 101.28 billion US dollars), an increase of 14.77 percent over the end of the previous year. PSBC also cooperated with the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) to provide over 10,000 corporate customers with carbon accounting services.

In facilitating economic and social development, PSBC has been committed to serving “agriculture, rural areas and farmers”, urban and rural residents and small and medium-sized enterprises, and has made every effort to build a first-tier large retail bank that is responsible, resilient, and caring. As of the end of Q3 in 2024, PSBC’s agriculture-related loans had a balance of 2.22 trillion yuan (about 305.8 billion US dollars), an increase of 187.277 billion yuan (about 25.91 billion US dollars) over the end of the previous year. The balance of inclusive loans to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) amounted to 1.58 trillion yuan (about 217.7 billion US dollars), accounting for more than 18 percent of total loans. PSBC also served over 87,000 sci-tech enterprises, with the balance of financing reaching over 480 billion yuan (about 66.37 billion US dollars), up 40 percent year-on-year.

In optimizing the corporate governance system, PSBC has strengthened ESG information disclosure, regularly released performance report and Corporate Social Responsibility Report (Environmental, Social, Governance), and published Environmental Information Disclosure (TCFD) Report in two consecutive years, constantly improving the quality of ESG information disclosure. PSBC ranked 12th in The Banker’s list of “Top 1000 World Banks” in 2024. It was awarded the “2023 Best Case for Boards of Directors of Public Companies” and “2023 Best Case for Management of Investor Relations of Public Companies” by the China Association for Public Companies, and was rated A (Excellent) by the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) in the information disclosure evaluation of listed companies for years, which has vigorously boosted the improvement of its governance level and high-quality development.