1、 外文翻译 原文 Banking on the future:THE EQUATOR PRINCIPLES and the project finance market Material Source:IFC Author: Suellen Lazarus When 10 banks adopted the Equator Principles in June 2003,little did they suspect that they would soon change the face of project finance with their decision.From humble b
2、eginnings, the Equator Principles have indeed altered the project finance market. There are now 27 financial institutions that have committed to using the Equator Principles to manage environmental and social risk in their project finance businesses. The Equator banks represented about 75% of the pr
3、oject finance market in 2003. What are the Equator Principles? They are a set of policies and procedures for assessing, managing and monitoring environmental and social risk in project finance lending.Rather than aspirational statements about protecting the environment, they provide a clear and meas
4、urable standard of sustainable good practice. Importantly, they also provide procedures for environmental and social assessments. The Equator Principles are based on the environmental and social policies and guidelines of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector development ar
5、m of the World Bank Group. Today, successful and broad syndication of a project finance deal means Equator compliance is expected. The fact that this has happened is testimony to the change that is underway in the financial markets. Environmental and social Steward ship is not just seen as something
6、 that is nice to do.it is an essential component of risk management and good business. The transformation in bank thinking on environmental and social issues stands in sharp contrast to attitudes of just a few years ago. While not disregarding environmental and social issues, most banks saw these as
7、 the responsibility of project sponsors who were to determine appropriate standards and to access, manage and monitor compliance. Consistent standards or procedures were not applied. The Change in the banking industry reflects a growing awareness and concern about sustainability issues globally. Geo
8、rge Blankenship, a consultant based in Denver who often advises companies in the extractive industries, notes, Those of us providing consulting services to the extractive industries have seen increased interest in compliance with the Equator Principles from companies looking to obtain financing from
9、 the bank market. But we are also seeing increased interest in Equator compliance from companies who are self financing projects, because they believe that compliance. Preserves future financing and merger, acquisition or divestiture options, which increasingly depend on the environmental and social
10、 quality of a companys entire Portfolio of projects. PricewaterhouseCoopers 2003 survey of CEOs from 43 countries found that 79% of CEOs agreed that sustainability is vital to the profitability of any company, up from 69% in 2002. Not surprisingly given these results, environmental impact of busines
11、s operations is now being actively managed by a substantial majority (71%) of companies surveyed. The message from business Leaders is that sustainability is an integral part of creating value, not just an add-on. As the Equator banks move from adoption to implementation, a change process is occurri
12、ng within each of the financial institutions. For banks that adopt, the first step is to evaluate what activities and staff are affected and how the new procedures will be incorporated into their operations. An Equator manager within a bank is often identified or recruited, and, in some cases, a ful
13、l sustainability department has been created. Credit procedures are rewritten and decisions are made as to what credit committee will be responsible for overseeing environmental and social issues. Staffs are trained and guidance must be provided to staff in offices throughout the world. Internal aud
14、it procedures are adapted to monitor compliance with these new policies. The question that is often asked of banks is whether they are turning down deals as a result of adopting Equator. Yes, they are, but they surely will not disclose the names of the deals they turned down. The new procedures plac
15、e emphasis on project categorization, which classifies the environmental and social impact of each project, and sponsor assessment, which considers the sponsors commitment and capacity to effectively manage environmental and social issues. High impact projects with high risk sponsors are on the excl
16、usion list of most, if not all, Equator banks. While banks do not like to turn down deals, prudent risk management drives this decision. Most strikingly, the Equator Principles have fostered cooperation amongst banks that are otherwise competitors and are not accustomed to sharing unless in the cont
17、ext of a deal. Having agreed to provide a level playing field on environmental and social standards, the banks are actively working together to promote best practice in implementation of the principles. Regular coordination meetings are held to facilitate implementation. Most recently, the banks met
18、 with project sponsors in London to hear their views on the underlying policies and procedures of Equator. Attending the meetings were representatives from the oil and gas, mining, and power industries as well as several industry associations. In light of civil societys interest in successful implem
19、entation and monitoring results of the Equator Principles, the banks are also meeting with representatives of these organizations. With its policies at their foundation, IFC has a real stake in Equators success. IFC has now provided training in its environmental and social policies and procedures to
20、 almost 700 staff at 15 Equator banks, with more scheduled in the coming months. Training is tailored to the needs of the individual bank and relies on case studies drawn from the banks own experiences. Understanding that successful implementation depends on the successful interaction of a number of
21、 parties within an institution, the banks are not only training project finance professionals, but credit officers, public affairs managers, lawyers, and even Board members. IFCs Safeguard Policies for managing the social and environmental risk of private sector operations in emerging markets are cu
22、rrently being updated, and IFC is consulting with the Equator financial institutions, as well as other stakeholders such as governments, clients, and NGOs, as part of the update process. The update process is designed to clearly state minimum requirements applicable to all projects, streamline the p
23、olicies for easier application, fill policy gaps and more fully incorporate the concept of sustainability. As the banks rely on these policies, it is vital that they and their clients understand and are comfortable with the proposed changes. As environmental and social responsibility has grown, so h
24、as the expectation that firms will report on their sustainability performance. For the Equator banks too, transparency will be key to promoting accountability, and reporting on results will become an important responsibility for each bank. While client confidentiality will prevent disclosure of info
25、rmation on individual deals, each bank will need to consider how it reports its Equator performance. Many banks already issue regular sustainability reports. In September2004, ABN AMRO released its first such report, and quickly established itself as a leader in the Netherlands in sustainability rep
26、orting as determined by a government commissioned study of 175 Dutch companies. This is a good beginning for the Equator banks. Now that Equator has reached a critical mass in the banking industry, where does it go from here? Once a bank begins systematically considering environmental and social iss
27、ues in its project finance business, inevitably it will begin looking at these issues in other aspects of its business. Adapting Equator or incorporating other mechanisms to manage environmental and social issues in corporate finance, retail banking and their own internal operations will be up to ea
28、ch bank, and for many banks this process is underway. The next frontier will also be broadening the scope of the Equator Principles to other types of financial institutions active in project financing including export credit agencies (there is now one that has adopted Equator), bilateral agencies an
29、d banks in developing countries (there are already four that have adopted Equator). The movement towards globally recognized environmental and social standards that the Equator Principles have set in motion will result in better project outcomes and reduced costs, while above all promoting sustainab
30、ility. From a simple but bold initiative, it is an impressive outcome. 译文 银行的未来：赤道原则和项目融资市场 资料来源 :IFC 作者： by Suellen Lazarus 当 2003 年 6 月 10 家银行采用了赤道原则时，他们一点也不怀疑，他们很快将面对融资项目，他们决定从谦卑的态度开始。赤道原则的确改变了金融市场的项目。目前 27 家金融机构，致力于利用赤道原则处理在其项目融资业务环境和社会风险。 2003 年采用赤道原则的银行占领了 75%的项目融资市场。 什么 是 赤道原则 ？ 他们 是一系列 政策和程序
31、，评估，管理和监测环境和社会项目融 资 贷款中的 风险，而不是关于保护环境的理想语句，他们提供了一个良好的 ， 明确和可衡量的标准可持续做法。重要的是，他们还提供了环境和社会评估的程序。赤道原则是基于对环境和社会政策和国际国际金融公司（ IFC，私营部 门，世界银行集团的发展机构的）的准则。 今天，成功的和广泛的银团项目融资皆遵守赤道原则的规定。事实上，这证明金融市场正在进行改变。环境和社会管理是不仅仅被视为是一种好的做法，更是风险管理和良好业务的重要组成部部分。 银行在思考环境和社会问题态度上方式的转变与几年前形成了鲜明的对比。虽然不是不顾环境和社会问 题，但大多数银行认为项目发起人应负起责
32、任。但责规定的标准、管理和监督标准是不一致或不明确的。银行业的变化反映了人们日益认识和关注有关全球可持续性问题。 George Blankenship，一名在丹佛工作的顾问经常对一些采掘公司给出建议，建议他们关注同行中遵守赤道原则的公司，这些公司能获得遵守赤道原则银行的兴趣，为他们提供市场融资的机会。但是我们也看到更多的有项目融资的机构对赤道原则感兴趣，因为他们相信赤道原则的承诺。 保留未来的融资和兼并 的模式 ，收购或剥离资产期权， 评价一个公司的整个项目的质量越来越多了取 决于环境和社会着两个重要因素 。 2003 年在一个投资组合项目（ portfolio of project）中对来自
33、 43 个国家的首席执行官进行调查， 79 的 CEO 一致认为， 可持续发展代表着公司至关重要的盈利能力 ，从 2002年的 69 到 2003 年的 79%。 这个结果并不令人惊讶 ， 环境对公司业务的重要影响正在被多数的公司所承认。信息商界的领袖，是创造价值的一个重要组成部分，不仅仅是一种补充。 作为赤道银行通过对自己职责的履行，改变正在每个金融机构中发生。对于银行改革的第一个步骤就是：如何将新的程序纳入其行动中，及新程 序纳入后活动和工作人员会受到什么影响。一个赤道银行的经理往往是被确定好的或者是被聘用的，在某些情况下，一个完整的可持续发展部门成立了。信贷程序需要进行修改，并决定出信贷
34、委员会将负责怎样的监督环境和对社会问题负怎样的责任。 工作人员必须进行培训和指导，在全世界的各个办事处必须设置经过培训和指导的专业工作人员。需要调整内部审计程序，以监测这些新的政策要求。 问题是由于银行采用了赤道原则往往会拒绝一些不合原则的交易，但是他们拒绝透露交 易者的姓名。新的程序的重点将放在项目分类上，把环境和社会影响放到每个项目中去，并赞助评估，承认担保人的承诺和能力，有效管理环境和和社会问题。赤道银行排除高风险高冲击的项目，但不是所有的都排除。虽然银行不愿意拒绝交易，但审慎风险管理决定一切。 最显著的效果是，赤道原则会促进原本是竞争对手不能分享交易的银行之间的合作。赤道原则提供了一个
35、公平竞争的环境和社会的准则，银行正在进行积极的合作中，以促进这些原则的执行的最佳做法是，定期召开协调会议，促进赤道原则的执行。最近赤道银行和项目发起人在伦敦举行会议，听取赤道原则 上基本政策和程序的意见。参加代表石油、天然气、矿产、电力行业以及其他一些行业的行业协会。鉴于民间社会的成功执行和监测。赤道银行给予了高度关注。 根据赤道原则的政策 。国际金融公司 在赤道原则上获得成功。 目前 国际金融公司 已提供了其环境和社会政策和程序的培训 。在 15 个赤道银行中有近 700个员工， 更在未来几个月举行培训 ，这些培训 是针对个别银行的需要，并从银行自身个案的经验中吸取 经验 。 理解到， 银行
36、不仅 有 金融专业人员的培训项目，还有 信贷 专业人员 ， 公共事务管理人员 ，律师，甚至是董事会成员。 国际金融公司 目前正在新兴市场上更 新私营部门社会和环境风险的管理 ，及 保障政策 。与此同时 国际金融公司 正在与 赤道金融机构，以及诸如政府，客户和非政府组织等 进行合作并且革新赤道原则革新 的目的是明确规定适用于所有项目的最低要求，简化程序，方便的政策，填补政策空白，并更充分 纳入可持续发展的概念。由于银行对这些政策的依赖， 至关重要的 是 ，他们和他们的客户了解并建议修改 。 由于 对 环境和社会责任 的要求 越来越多， 面对对环境和社会责任这样的期望 ，企业将报告其可持续性绩效。
37、 对于赤道银行透明度成为促进报告结果的一个重要责任， 虽然客户 会进行 保密以防止对个人交易的信息披 露， 所以 每家银行将需要考虑如何报告其赤道的 可能性 。许多银行已经 定期发布 可持续发展报告。 2004 年 9 月，荷兰银行发布了其第一份报告，并迅速确立了在荷兰的领导者本身的可持续性 ， 报告所确定的 175 个荷兰公司 由 政府委托 进行 研究。这是赤道银行的良好开端。 现在 赤道银行已经成为银行业争论的一个问题，它将如何去面临这些争论？ 一旦银行系统开始考虑在其项目融资业务的环境和社会问题，不可避免地将开始在其业务的其他方面 研究 这些问题。 采用 赤道或结合其他的机制来管理在企业融资，零售银行和他们自己的内部业务的环境和社会问题 ，许多银行 正在这一进程中 。下一个领域也将扩大了赤道原则的范围，在项目融资包括出口信贷机构的积极金融机构的其他类型（现在有一个已采纳赤道），双边机构和发展中国家的银行（目前已经有四有通过赤道） 。 走向全球认可的环境和社会的准则，赤道原则将引导更好的项目成果和降低成本，从而促进可持续的发展，一个简单而大胆的醒过，它是一个显著的成果。
