•The Vision to Become an “International Benchmark Enterprise for Sustainability”
    As sustainable finance has become a global development trend, Yuanta Bank has, based on its core business, developed Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) related products and services to optimize the capital influence thereof as a financial institution. After officially becoming a member of the Equator Principles Association (EPA) on October 8, 2020, Yuanta Bank aims to establish a project financing credit system more in line with international standards and, through the Equator Principles (EP) framework, implement the spirit of Yuanta Group’s Sustainable Finance Guidelines in planning credit business in the future. Yuanta Bank will also become more proactive in undertaking due diligence in order to manage potential environmental and social risks involved in credit business, and facilitate our business operations in compliance with international sustainability trends. Yuanta Bank commits to fulfill our corporate social responsibility and stride towards sustainable management.

•About the Equator Principles
    Published by Equator Principles Association (EPA) in 2003, the Equator Principles (EP) is a framework for financial institutions to manage environmental and social issues in project financing. The framework provides financial institutions with a set of benchmarks for identifying, assessing and managing environmental and social risks involved in a project during the financing process. To fulfill our commitment to corporate sustainability, Yuanta Bank has, upon becoming an official member bank of the Equator Principles Association on October 8, 2020, abided by the ten Equator Principles. The Equator Principles Association website:
https://equator-principles.com/

•Equator Principles Specification
    According to the Equator Principles, member banks (known as the Equator Principles Financial Institutions, EPFI) shall categorize project financing and project-related corporate loan as high (Category A), medium (Category B) and low (Category C) based on the magnitude of potential environmental and social risks and impacts; conduct environmental and social due diligence that is commensurate with the categorized level to minimize their impacts to the environment and society; and utilize covenants and post-loan monitoring to ensure compliance with the Principles on an annual basis.

•Equator Principles Implementation Process and Management Structure
    As in compliance with the Equator Principles, Yuanta Bank has completed the formulation of “Guidelines for the Management of Equator Principles Financing” and related operational procedures in November 2020. Yuanta Bank also established the “Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM) Team” to assess, review and monitor environmental and social risks and impacts of project financing. The objectives thereof are to minimize environmental and social impacts of low potential cases, and to encourage clients to pay attention to environmental protection and social responsibility.

•Complete In-house Education and Training
    To facilitate the familiarization of all units with EP mechanisms and new forms, and to fully implement the EP policy, Yuanta Bank held a large-scale training session in late November and mid-December 2020, respectively. Also, to enhance our staffs’ awareness and control of environmental and social risks, we also partnered with external consultants to arrange trainings for our ESRM teams, credit review units and business units. In the future, Yuanta Bank will hold related trainings on a regular basis not only to ensure our compliance with Equator Principles, but also to minimize negative environmental and social impacts derived from major project financing and to promote environmental protection and corporate social responsibility among credit recipients.