CEE's best bank for sustainable finance 2020: Garanti BBVA

In September 2019 Garanti BBVA signed the world’s first gender loan, a newly designed structure that the bank hopes will encourage its customers to improve their gender equality performance.

With the $44 million loan, the bank is financing Polat Energy’s construction of the wind farm Soma 4 – the largest wind farm in Turkey. Interest rates on the loan will become more favourable as Polat Energy meets criteria such as postnatal return-to-work programmes, equality in new recruitment, prioritizing enterprises with female-dominated partnerships in the supply chain, equal pay, policies to prevent harassment and training to address discrimination against women.

It is another innovative structure in the world of sustainable finance that Garanti BBVA has led out of Turkey. The bank wins the award for CEE’s best bank in sustainable finance.

Garanti BBVA’s commitment to sustainability begins internally. At the beginning of 2020, the bank signed a contract with utilities across Turkey to purchase 100% renewable energy for its buildings and branches that have the compatible infrastructure.

In terms of gender balance, women represent 56% of all employees and 40% of middle and senior roles.