Bank of China Expands Green Finance Portfolio
Bank of China is bolstering its position in the global marketplace by funneling resources into initiatives that promote low-carbon emissions and sustainable development. The bank utilizes its worldwide presence to facilitate China’s transition to a more environmentally friendly economy, while also providing financial support for international projects. This approach involves allocating substantial funds to back innovative technologies and promote long-term environmental benefits, as “finance that can move at scale, support new technologies and fund projects whose environmental benefits may take years to emerge” is key.
Integrating Environmental Considerations
Bank of China incorporates environmental factors into its risk assessment and management systems, ensuring that lending decisions are guided by ecological priorities. According to officials, “Such attention to governance matters, since green finance can only scale credibly when its objectives are backed by disciplined risk management.” To achieve this, the bank conducts stress tests to assess climate-related risks and develops carbon accounting methods to help clients mitigate environmental and climate-related risks. By doing so, the bank ensures that capital allocation is based on measurable outcomes and governance, rather than solely on policy commitments.
The bank has expanded its participation in green finance through the capital markets. Notably, in 2025, it issued RMB30 billion in onshore green bonds and a US$550 million offshore sustainability bond. By the first half of 2026, the bank had underwritten nearly RMB80 billion in onshore green bonds and over US$12 billion in offshore bonds, securing its position as the second-largest Chinese bank in this sector. Its green bond investment portfolio reached RMB183 billion.
Recent transactions demonstrate the bank’s ability to connect domestic priorities with global capital. For instance, Bank of China supported the Chinese Ministry of Finance in issuing its inaugural RMB6 billion green sovereign bond in London. The bank also issued the world’s first dual-currency sustainability bond, denominated in both RMB and sterling. Additionally, it arranged the largest offshore RMB syndicated loan for a non-Chinese company, facilitating the procurement of clean energy and promoting more sustainable supply chains.
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Delivering Tangible Results
The bank’s project portfolio showcases the diverse range of needs that green finance can address. In Fuliang County, a 10-year loan of RMB80 million supports the conservation of ancient tea trees and rural development. This project has funded a germplasm bank preserving 57 local tea varieties, protected 18 ancient tea-tree clusters, and is expected to create nearly 200 jobs.
In Inner Mongolia, Bank of China completed China’s first nature-positive commercial ESG-linked loan, with interest rates tied to the borrower’s progress in cultivating desert forage and producing organic milk. By the end of 2025, the borrower had converted 350,000 mu of desert into pasture and planted over 98 million sand-fixing trees.
In Suzhou, the bank led a RMB420 million green bond issue for the operator of Taihu National Wetland Park. The park protects over 163 hectares of land, supports carbon sequestration, and provides a habitat for 182 bird species, as of the end of 2025.
