Luxembourg and Istanbul, 30 December 2021 – The Green for Growth Fund’s (GGF) Technical Assistance Facility has launched a dedicated Green Finance Expert course with longstanding partner, Garanti BBVA, in cooperation with the Renewables Academy, RENAC. This course will enhance the technical expertise of 30 Garanti employees from different regional offices, ranging from loan officers, credit specialists, and other professionals, to ensure that green finance is successfully implemented throughout the bank.
This online course is the first in a series of trainings designed specifically for Turkish GGF partner institutions, like Garanti BBVA, to enhance their capacity in providing green finance to households, small and medium enterprises, and other eligible projects. The course incorporates new case studies via live webinars, tailored specifically to the Turkish market with the support of an experienced consultant on the market. The GGF has also arranged an in-person study tour in Berlin in September 2022 for top achievers who complete the course.
Garanti BBVA is currently leading the sustainable finance practices in Turkey, and setting an example for the sector, being the first bank to set net zero targets and offering sustainable finance solutions for all segment customers. Also, in 2020, Garanti BBVA contributed TRY 1.4 million to the efforts aimed at raising awareness and know-how transfer to a variety of stakeholders including public bodies, policy makers, private companies, universities and NGOs for sustainable development. Thanks to a USD 22 million investment provided by the GGF to Garanti BBVA in 2019, the bank has been able to successfully on-lend the funds to businesses and households to finance green measures.
GGF Chairman Olaf Zymelka said: “We are very proud of this innovative online course which aims to enhance the technical expertise of professionals involved in the operation of GGF credit lines. Not only does the launch of this course strengthen the position of the GGF Green Academy as a reputable green finance training provider, but it also builds on the strong partnership we have with Garanti BBVA.”
Garanti BBVA CFO Aydın Güler said: “As Garanti BBVA, we have been contributing to sustainable development and to the fight against climate change for more than 15 years. We have integrated sustainability into the loan structures and in this way, we decrease the margin of the loan if our customer progress in sustainability-related areas. We also develop mechanisms that will encourage our customers' ways of doing business to be more sustainable and greener. Thanks to our cooperation with GGF, we become more specialized in sustainable finance. We will be able to increase the amount of finance for green projects in our country with our employees whose technical expertise has enhanced.”
For more information on becoming a certified green expert, click here.
ABOUT THE GGF
The Green for Growth Fund invests in measures designed to cut energy use and CO2 emissions and improve resource efficiency in 19 markets across Southeast Europe, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Moldova, the Middle East and North Africa. The fund provides such financing directly to renewable energy projects, businesses and municipalities or indirectly via selected financial institutions. The GGF’s Technical Assistance Facility maximizes the fund’s investment impact through support for capacity building at local financial institutions and partners.
The GGF was initiated as a public-private partnership in December 2009 by Germany’s KfW Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, with financial support from the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Austrian Development Bank (OeEB). The fund’s growing investor base comprises donor agencies, international financial institutions and institutional private investors, including the International Finance Corporation, the Dutch development bank FMO, and the German ethical bank GLS. The GGF is advised by Finance in Motion GmbH, one of the world’s leading impact asset managers, with over EUR 2.6 billion in assets under advisory/management. MACS Energy & Water GmbH, acts as the technical advisor.
For more information see www.ggf.lu and follow us on Twitter @GreenGrowthFund
ABOUT GARANTI BBVA
Established in 1946, Garanti Bank is Turkey’s second largest private bank with consolidated assets of close to TL 631 billion (USD 71.3 billion) as of September 30, 2021.
Garanti BBVA is an integrated financial services group operating in every segment of the banking sector including corporate, commercial, SME, payment systems, retail, private and investment banking together with its subsidiaries in pension and life insurance, leasing, factoring, brokerage and asset management, besides international subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Romania.
Implementing an advanced corporate governance model that promotes the Bank’s core values, Garanti has Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) as its majority shareholder with 49.85% share. Its shares are publicly traded in Turkey, and its depositary receipts in the UK and the USA. Garanti BBVA has an actual free float of 50.07% in Borsa Istanbul as of September 30, 2021.
Garanti BBVA’s purpose is to bring the age of opportunity to everyone, and with this purpose the Bank works to create value for all of its stakeholders. In the light of strategic priorities, the Bank focuses on improving the customers’ financial health by providing advice and actionable insights to them. The Bank puts emphasis on influencing decision-makers and other players in the sector regarding sustainability and making sustainability as mainstream. Garanti BBVA creates shared value and drives positive change through lending based on impact investment, as well as strategic partnerships and community programs focusing on material issues for both Garanti and its stakeholders.
Garanti BBVA constantly improves its business model and processes with operational excellence priority and keeps a close eye on financial and non-financial risks. In order to accelerate and drive its value creation; bank continues to focus on reaching more customers by being wherever customers are. As of September 30, 2021, Garanti provides a wide range of financial services to its close to 20 million customers with 18,486 employees through an extensive distribution network of 866 domestic branches, 7 foreign branches in Cyprus and one in Malta, and 1 international representative office in Shangay. Garanti BBVA offers an omni-channel convenience with seamless experience across all channels with 5,323 ATMs, an award-winning Call Center, internet, mobile and social banking platforms, all built on cutting-edge technological infrastructure.
Media contact GGF
Merle Römer
Manager Marketing & Communications
Phone: +49 (0)69 271 035-171
Email: press@ggf.lu
Media contact Garanti BBVA
Nazlı Ece Keskin
Manager Corporate Communications
Phone: +90 (0)212 318 19 06
Email: NazliAs@garantibbva.com.tr