ECCP renews partnership with ING

MANILA, Philippines — The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) has renewed its partnership with Dutch bank ING for this year, aimed at boosting sustainable financing.

In a statement yesterday, the ECCP identified ING as its exclusive banking partner for the year.

“We have had a long-standing relationship with ING as our member since 1991, so we are honored to extend this partnership to focus and weigh in on areas of sustainability, as well as ESG financing and transition in business,” ECCP executive director Florian Gottein said.

ING was also the ECCP’s exclusive banking partner last year, during which it worked closely with the chamber on numerous initiatives such as webinars and forums on the European-Philippines business outlook and facilitating dialogues with key government officials.

“The renewed partnership will provide ING, who has been operating in the Philippines since 1990, with a platform to continue lending its global expertise to European businesses and to Philippine companies with a European focus,” the ECCP said.

It said the bank plans to continue investing in growing its wholesale banking business by taking advantage of its leading position in merger and acquisition advisory, capital markets and the growth prospects in various sectors like renewable energy, technology, media and telecommunications, infrastructure, and financial institutions.

ING emphasized that one of the biggest challenges the world faces today is climate change.

“At ING, we see that concerted collaborative and consensus-based efforts are needed to accelerate climate-action and mission-oriented business. This is why we engage with partners such as ECCP, whose sustainability-related advocacies covering energy, water management, and circular economy, among others and their extensive involvement in policymaking, have deeply resonated with our bank,” ING country manager Jun Palanca said.

“Together with the ECCP, we look forward to being at the forefront and playing a stronger role in financing change, sharing knowledge and using our influence to guide companies towards a more sustainable way of doing business,” he said.

The ECCP stressed that the Philippines remains one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change, making the climate crisis a consistent priority among governments, companies and businesses, and local stakeholders.

“To mitigate the effects of climate change, the Philippines has committed to reduce 75 percent of its emissions by 2030 and scale up efforts towards low-carbon and climate-resilient initiatives,” the ECCP said.

With such ambitious targets, the ECCP said synergies between public and private sectors are looked at to provide coordinated and targeted support towards more sustainable business models, sustainable financing, and investments in climate resiliency.

ING serves more than 40 million customers worldwide of which11 of its markets are in Asia-Pacific. The bank has spanned more than 30 years of operations in the Philippines.

As part of its sustainability thrusts, ING has funded billions worth of euros towards sustainable projects through green loans, green bonds, and other innovative products and financing structures such as its Sustainability Improvement Loan.