State Bank of India (SBI) today has announced the completion of a $1 billion syndicated social loan facility. This loan is the bank’s inaugural social loan and the first syndicated loan in the past five years.

The deal is the largest ESG (environment, social, and governance) loan by a commercial bank in the Asia Pacific and the second largest globally.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara said, “As a responsible and sustainable organization, we are committed to conducting our business operations with the highest standards of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. Issuance of our first social loan embodies our commitment to ESG driven by our belief that our long-term success depends not only on our financial performance but also on our ability to make a positive impact on the environment, on society, and on our stakeholders”.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Our regulators are very stringent about governance practices and have kept our markets in prime condition. The Indian banking system is at a comfortable level”.

She further said, “Both SBI and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) have issued detailed statements with respect to their exposure, and said that their exposure was well within permissible limits”.

The $1 billion facility has been arranged through MLABs, MUFG Bank, and Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank.

MUFG and Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank are the joint social loan coordinators while MUFG is the lead social loan coordinator for this transaction.

“The issuance witnessed overwhelming participation from banks across Taiwan, Japan, China, and the Middle East, ensuring a full subscription”, said the lender.

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