Bin Liu, CEO of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited (ICBC NZ) remains focused on a sustainable finance strategy as it looks to support New Zealand’s transition to a low-emissions, climate-resilient economy.
ICBC NZ has operated in New Zealand for 12 years and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) – the world’s largest bank by total assets. ICBC aims to be a global leader in green credit, and by June 30 its international green-loan balance exceeded RMB 6 trillion (NZ$1.46 trillion), with financed projects helping to avoid or reduce more than 227 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.
ICBC NZ is embedding climate considerations across all areas of its operations, which CEO Bin Liu says reflects the bank’s recognition of its responsibility “as part of the banking sector to provide financial services to contribute to climate-change solutions, resilience, and the economy more broadly.”
“Climate change is not a distant concern but a pressing reality that affects and will further affect businesses, communities, and our way of life,” he says.
Liu says that ICBC NZ operates in New Zealand with the purpose of supporting the local economy and society and fostering economic, financial, and cultural exchanges between New Zealand and China.
In particular, the bank is focused on sustainable growth, high-quality lending, underpinned by a diversified and stable funding mix. Liu says this focus reflects the bank’s “commitment to high-quality development – ensuring we grow responsibly, support our clients’ transition, and manage our own exposure to climate-related risks.”
ICBC NZ conducted its first climate-scenario analysis in FY23 and refined it further in FY24, incorporating newly available data and insights. Its second Climate-Related Disclosure Statement highlights the growing maturity of this work and sets out how the bank is progressing with the integrating climate risk into governance, lending, and risk-management frameworks, in alignment with ICBC Group’s global green-finance strategy.
As part of its scenario-analysis update, ICBC NZ used data from the Ministry for the Environment and the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). Updated inputs included extreme rainfall levels, temperature increases, and both global and New Zealand carbon-price forecasts.
The refreshed models project stronger climate impacts than previous versions, while new GDP analysis from the NGFS shows that the expected economic toll of unabated climate change has risen sharply, underscoring the need to manage both physical and transition risks across the bank’s portfolio.
The analysis allowed ICBC NZ to assess how climate-related risks and opportunities could affect the resilience of its business model and strategy. “This helps us maintain financial stability, and identify emerging sustainable-finance opportunities,” says Liu.
Climate change is not a distant concern but a pressing reality that affects and will further affect businesses, communities, and our way of life.
With ICBC’s global footprint, ICBC NZ can connect New Zealand businesses and investment opportunities with international capital seeking sustainable outcomes. “Addressing climate change requires collective action and innovative solutions,” Liu says. “We are proud to collaborate with businesses that are investing in climate-change solutions and driving sustainable growth.”
He expects this cross-border flow of funding and expertise will continue to fuel projects in renewable energy, infrastructure and, in time, more low-carbon technologies – sectors central to both New Zealand and China’s net-zero ambitions.
Looking ahead, ICBC NZ’s priorities include taking steps to quantifying the financial impacts of climate risks, and continuing to expand sustainability-linked lending to clients with measurable ambitions to reduce their negative climate impact.
“While the bank continues its efforts in high-quality developments, we invite our stakeholders, customers, and communities to join us in working with the New Zealand economy and society to support sustainable growth,” says Liu.
50 Albert St green loan
In November 2024, ICBC NZ participated in a bank syndicate that financed the acquisition of the office building at 50 Albert St, in downtown Auckland. The development holds a certified 6 Green Star NZ Office Design Rating, recognising its high environmental performance. The loan was formally classified as a Green Loan under the Loan Market Association’s Green Loan Principles, supporting environmentally sustainable economic activity. At the time of purchase, the project is expected to achieved a 120% offset of all greenhouse-gas emissions generated during construction and over the building’s projected 60-year lifespan.
Flood-risk mapping for home loans
To strengthen its management of climate-related risk, ICBC NZ partnered with CoreLogic in 2024 to conduct a detailed flood-risk assessment across its home-loan portfolio. The analysis incorporated fluvial (rivers), tidal (estuaries and coastlines) and pluvial (flash flooding or surface water risk). It found that 93% of properties were low risk, 5% low-to-moderate, 2% moderate-to-high, and just four properties high-risk, giving the bank sharper insight into physical climate risks.
ICBC is an advertising sponsor of the Herald’s Sustainable Business and Finance report.