Updated : Jan 14, 2023 With India Inc. turning its attention and money towards green energy, banks are not far behind in offering them customised 'Green Financing'. The issue came up at the BT Banking and Economy Summit 2023 in Mumbai where banks revealed their plans to be part of the 'green revolution'. Explaining how green financing actually works Ankur Khurana, MD, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking, India, Standard Chartered Bank said the approach towards assessing business to finance – whether telecom towers or power or shipping and infra or ports — has changed in the last 3-4 years. “What we encourage our large clients to do, and it’s already happening, is that do you have a transition plan? Are you willing to make investments to move to renewables? Are automobile firms looking at EV as a strategy?" Saying that the process will involve a transition period, Khurana added. “A lot of international banks and institutions have drawn hardlines about not financing thermal power, though the last 12 months have thrown new challenges. But it is about both financial markets and conglomerates coming together and saying there is a transition, we need the money to get to that transition, which won’t happen overnight.”
