This week, Bank of America (BoA) pledged to expand its $50 billion investment in low-carbon business to $125 billion by 2025, signaling its leadership in environmental finance.
BoA’s environmental commitment focuses on addressing energy efficiency, renewable energy and transportation, and other critical areas including water conservation, land use and waste.
Over the next 10 years, the bank’s environmental business initiative will support lending, investing, capital raising, advisory services and client financing solutions.
“We will continue to work with partners around the globe to develop innovative and scalable solutions that attract new investors and additional capital to clean energy and low-carbon infrastructure opportunities,” said Purna Saggurti, Bank of America Merrill Lynch chairman of Global Corporate and Investment Banking.
The new commitment was announced at the White House’s American Business Act on Climate Pledge event, gathering executives from various industries that have pledged their support for a climate agreement in advance of the COP21 meeting this December. BoA’s pledge builds on its initial $20 billion environmental business initiative of 2007 that was fulfilled in 2013, four years ahead of schedule.
“Since making its original environmental business commitment in 2007, Bank of America has consistently been among the leaders in every branch of clean energy finance we track,” said Michael Liebreich, founder and chairman of the Advisory Board, Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “This new commitment means Bank of America is again setting the pace. To be considered a leading provider of financial services, in anything from energy to real estate, it’s crucial to be focused on funding low-carbon solutions, and Bank of America’s new commitment is a very significant statement.”
Since 2007, BoA has deployed over $39 billion in financing for low-carbon activities, including $12 billion in 2014 alone. The majority of the capital has been deployed to renewable energy projects (40 percent) and energy efficiency (33 percent).
BoA has played a leading role in developing the rapidly expanding green bond market. The bank first announced a 10-year, $50 billion environmental business goal in 2012, and in 2013, it offered the first benchmark-sized corporate green bond — a $500 million offering.
These efforts were expanded earlier this year, when BoA issued its second green bond for $600 million in aggregate principal amount. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, BoA was the No.1 underwriter of green bond issuances in 2014.
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Published Jul 28, 2015 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT / 8pm BST / 9pm CEST