The Financial Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, have announced the shortlists for the 2008 FT Sustainable Banking Awards. The Awards, now in their third year, were created to recognise banks and other financial institutions that have shown leadership and innovation in integrating social, environmental and corporate governance considerations into their operations.

The Awards have grown in popularity and this year the nominees were selected from a record 182 entries from 129 institutions across 54 countries. Two new categories – Banking at the Bottom of the Pyramid and Sustainable Investor of the Year – were open to non-banking financial institutions as well as banks.

The judging panel, which includes leading figures involved in sustainable finance and development, met this week at the Financial Times offices in London to agree on a short-list of five institutions for each category of awards, and three banks for each regional sub-category under Emerging Markets Bank of the Year. The nominees are as follows:

Sustainable Bank of the Year:

•Banco Real, Brazil

•Citi, US

•HSBC, UK

•Rabobank, Netherlands

•Standard Chartered, UK

Sustainable Emerging Markets Bank of the Year:

Africa/Middle East

•Access Bank, Nigeria

•First National Bank, South Africa

•Nedbank, South Africa

Asia

•ABN AMRO India

•Industrial Bank, China

•YES Bank, India

Eastern Europe

•Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB)

•MDM Bank, Russia

•Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria)

Latin America

•Banco Bradesco, Brazil

•Banco Real, Brazil

•HSBC (Latin America)

Sustainable Deal of the Year:

•BlueOrchard Finance, Switzerland/Morgan Stanley, US (microfinance loans)

•Calyon, France (solar thermal power plants)

•Citi, US (financing for rural housing)

•Glitnir Bank, Iceland (geothermal power generation)

•Merrill Lynch, US (carbon finance to reduce deforestation)

Banking at the Bottom of the Pyramid:

•ASA, Bangladesh

•Banco Bradesco, Brazil

•ICICI Group, India

•Opportunity International UK

•Wizzit, South Africa

Sustainable Investor of the Year:

•Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund

•Calvert Foundation, US

•E+Co, US

•F&C Management Ltd, UK

•SAM Sustainable Asset Management, Switzerland

“The range of entries on the short-lists shows the breadth of interest in sustainability among financial institutions worldwide. These awards have tapped a nerve in the banking and investment sectors and we were particularly impressed with the response to the new Bottom of the Pyramid category,” said Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times.

”The commitment to sustainability continues to grow in the financial sector as reflected in the quality of entries for this competition,” said Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO. ”I am especially pleased that an emerging market bank is in the short-list for bank of the year.”

The judging panel that selected the nominees and will choose the award winners includes leading figures involved in sustainable finance and development:

•John Willman, UK Business Editor, Financial Times (co-chair)

•Rachel Kyte, Vice President, Advisory Services, IFC (co-chair)

•David Harris, Manager, Responsible Investment, FTSE Group

•Richard Laing, Chief Executive, CDC Group Ltd

•Jonathan Lash, President, World Resources Institute (WRI)

•Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)

•Tessa Tennant, Co-founder, Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA)

Leading consultancy Sustainable Finance Ltd is technical advisor for the programme.

The winners of the awards will be announced at a special dinner at the Dorchester in London on 3 June 2008.

This awards dinner will conclude the 2008 FT/IFC Sustainable Banking Conference, a full-day gathering of major decision-makers, strategists and visionaries involved in sustainable finance. Confirmed speakers for the Sustainable Banking Conference include:

•Marcus Agius, Chairman, Barclays

•Pamela Flaherty, CEO Citi Foundation and Director, Corporate Citizenship, Citi

•Carlos Labarthe, Co-CEO, Compartamos

•Bjorn Lomberg, Author, ’The Skeptical Environmentalist’

•Dipesh Shah OBE, Chairman, Jetion Holdings

•Lars Thunell, Executive Vice President and CEO, IFC

For further information, please contact:

Lizzie Allen, Financial Times, London, +44 (0)20 78734463lizzie.allen@ft.com

Azmar Sukandar, Financial Times, Hong Kong, +852 2905 5519azmar.sukandar@ft.com

Lucie Giraud, IFC, Washington, DC, +1 (202) 458-4662 lgiraud@ifc.org

Notes to Editors:

About the Financial Times:

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business newspapers, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing extensive news, comment and analysis, the newspaper is printed at 24 print sites across the globe, has a daily circulation of 454,937 (ABC figures, March 2008) and a readership of more than 1.3 million people worldwide. FT.com is one of the world’s leading business information websites, and the internet partner of the FT newspaper. FT.com is the definitive home for business intelligence on the web, providing an essential source of news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community. FT.com attracts 6.2 million unique users, generating 48 million page views. FT.com has 101,000 subscribers.

About IFC:

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilising private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that poor people have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through loan participations and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.