London, June 12, 2006 —The Financial Times today announced the winners of the FT Sustainable Banking Awards, the first global awards program designed to recognize banks that have shown leadership and innovation in integrating social, environmental, and corporate governance objectives into their operations.

HSBC, the UK-based banking group, was named Sustainable Bank of the Year, while Banco ABN Amro Real of Brazil won Emerging Markets Sustainable Bank of the Year. The team responsible for sustainable projects at German bank WestLB won the Sustainable Bankers of the Year award, while the Sustainable Deal of the Year was won by Citigroup/Banamex and Financiera Compartamos of Mexico. Credit Suisse won the Sustainable Energy Finance Deal of the Year award.

The awards were launched in association with the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.

"The winners of the FT Sustainable Banking Awards have set benchmarks on how banks can adapt to meet social, environmental, and financial goals," said Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times. "There is still much to be done, and we hope the tremendous response to these awards from banks around the world will encourage further innovation and transparency in this area."

Lars Thunell, IFC executive vice president, said: “These awards demonstrate that sustainable finance offers a tremendous opportunity for banks to create value for their customers, shareholders, employees, and the broader community. This is true in the emerging markets, as well as in developed economies.”

Special commendations were awarded to ABN Amro of the Netherlands and Bank Sarasin of Switzerland in the Bank of the Year category, to Citigroup of the United States for Bankers of the Year, and to ABN Amro and HSBC for Deal of the Year.

The awards were presented at an invitation-only dinner at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London attended by 250 senior bankers and decision-makers in the area of sustainability. David Cameron, leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, was keynote speaker at the dinner, which was co-sponsored by FTSE Group.  

The response to the awards surpassed expectations in their inaugural year, drawing 90 entries from 48 institutions around the world.

The judging panel, which included leading figures involved in sustainable finance and development, initially narrowed down the entries to a short list of five banks for each of the five categories, before selecting the overall winners.

The judges for the awards:

• John Willman, UK business editor, Financial Times (panel co-chair)
• Lars Thunell, executive vice president, International Finance Corporation (panel co-chair)
• Nancy Birdsall, president, Center for Global Development
• David Blood, managing partner, Generation Investment Management
• Paul Grimes, chief operating officer, FTSE Group
• Leo Johnson, co-founder, Sustainable Finance Ltd (technical advisers to the awards)
• Tessa Tennant, chair, Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia
• Sivendran Vettivetpillai, managing director, Aureos Advisers Ltd

For more details on the FT Sustainable Banking Awards, please visit www.ft.com/sustainablebanking

The Financial Times Group, one of the world’s leading business information companies, aims to provide a broad range of business information and services to the growing audience of internationally minded business people.  The FT Group includes:

• The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business newspapers, recognized internationally for its authority, integrity, and accuracy.  Providing extensive news, comment, and analysis, the newspaper is printed in 23 cities across the globe, with a daily circulation of over 445,000 and a readership of more than 1.4 million people worldwide.
• FT.com, one of the world's leading business information Web sites, and the Internet partner of the FT newspaper. Since its relaunch in May 2002, the site has continued to be the definitive home for business intelligence on the web, providing an essential source of news, comment, data, and analysis for the global business community. FT.com attracts 4.8 million unique monthly users (ABC electronic figures Jan. 2006), generating 41 million page views, and has 84,000 subscribers. FT.com broke even in December 2002.
• The FT Group’s pan-European network of national business newspapers and online services, including France’s leading business newspaper and Web site, Les Echos and lesechos.fr.  In February 2000, the FT launched a new German language newspaper, FT Deutschland, with a fully integrated online business news and data service.
• FT Interactive Data, through which the FT Group is one of the world’s leading sources of securities pricing and specialist financial information to global institutional, professional, and individual investors.  Its products include eSignal, an online real-time streaming quotation service for brokers and active traders.
• FT Business, which produces specialist information on the retail, personal, and institutional finance industries. It publishes the UK’s premier personal finance magazine, Investors Chronicle, and The Banker, Money Management, and Financial Adviser for professional advisers.
• The Financial Times Group also has a stake in a number of joint ventures, including:

1. FTSE International, a joint venture with the London Stock Exchange.
2. Vedomosti, Russia’s leading business newspaper and a partnership venture with Dow Jones and Independent Media.
3. A 50% stake in BDFM, publishers of South Africa’s leading financial newspapers and Web sites.
4. A 50% stake in The Economist Group, which publishes the world’s leading weekly business and current affairs journal.
5. A 13.85% stake in Business Standard, one of India’s leading financial newspapers.

The FT Group is part of Pearson plc, the international media group.

About IFC

The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing and transition countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. Its 178 member countries provide its share capital and collectively determine its policies.

From its founding in 1956 through FY05, IFC has committed more than $49 billion of its own funds and arranged $24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY05 was $19.3 billion for its own account and $5.3 billion held for participants in loan syndications.

For more information, visit www.ifc.org.