Akbank received three significant awards within the scope of the Sustainable Finance Awards 2022 organized by Global Finance
Having undergone a remarkable transformation within the scope of the sustainability strategy that it has updated at the beginning of 2021, Akbank has become one of the leading international banks in this field. Akbank received three significant awards within the scope of the Sustainable Finance Awards 2022 organized by Global Finance. In the award program, where many criteria related to sustainable financing from environmental and social impact evaluation to governance structure were evaluated, Akbank was selected as “Turkey’s Best Bank in Sustainable Finance” in the country-wide awards given for the first time this year. Having achieved significant success in the Central and Eastern Europe region, Akbank received the “Outstanding Leadership in Sustainable Project Finance" and “Outstanding Leadership in Social Bonds" awards.
CEO Hakan Binbaşgil said “In light of our sustainability strategy, which consists of concrete commitments, we are pleased with the significant progress we have made in a short time. Sustainable finance is one of the four areas of value at the heart of our strategy. As the first deposit bank in Turkey which provides a long-term commitment in the field of sustainable finance, we find it very meaningful that we have been selected as the “Best Bank in Sustainable Finance in Turkey" in the country-wide awards given by Global Finance for the first time in this field this year. With our achievements in social securities and financing of sustainable projects, we are proud to be shown as a leader in our geography by crossing borders.
We stand by our customers in their green transformation journeys with our innovative sustainable financing products that we offer specific to the sector and the customer. In this context, we have provided 37 billion TL in loan support since the beginning of 2021 that we announced our commitments in the field of sustainable finance. Our customer-specific solutions that we have developed in all segments create a positive impact. We support the transition of mobility to a low-carbon economy through pioneering financing structures such as electric vehicle production and purchasing and rail transportation. The share of renewable energy projects in our total energy production loans reached a high rate of 84%.
We were also the first and only bank in Turkey which sets targets in the field of sustainability-related funding. In 2021, we raised more than $2 billion in sustainable funding through our diverse and pioneering operations. Thus, we exceeded our sustainable financing-based loan target of 30% within total loan for 2021. This rate reached 40% by the end of 2021 and 45% by the first quarter of 2022.
Another difference we have as Akbank is the innovative investment products that we offer in this field to individuals. “Turkey's First Domestic Social Bonds", in which we financed health investments, and Ak Asset Management’s sustainability-themed funds reached a total volume of TL 3 billion as of the first quarter of 2022.
With our innovative products and services, loan transactions, and support for international initiatives in this field, we will maintain our leadership in the field of sustainable financing”.