It is an SMS initiative and is funded by the UK Government.
The initiative is already present in 8 provinces and has 5 participating banks and 2 financial institutions. For landing in Mendoza, an agreement was signed with Banco Nación.
SMS Buenos Aires has signed an agreement with Banco Nación to launch the “Sustainable Financing of Northern Argentina” project, this time in the province of Mendoza. This initiative was selected from among several initiatives from around the world by the program UK Partnership for Accelerated Climate Change (UK charter) Green Recovery Challenge Fundpromoted by the British government.
The proposal seeks for banks, as key domestic actors in the financial system, to integrate sustainability as an opportunity into their business and financial strategies, and contribute to the long-term financing of productive models that help meet the challenges of climate change.
Launched in March 2021, the program focused on the northern provinces of Argentina, in order to strengthen the financing of environmentally responsible production systems, while at the same time, providing opportunities in areas of vulnerable populations.
SMS and Banco Nación have already worked together on this project in the first phase of the initiative, in the province of Chaco. Along these lines, Alejandro Ray, Deputy Director of Investment Banking and Financial Services at Banco Nación stated: “It has been very beneficial for us to work with the consulting firm and continue to do so. For us, it is very productive, we are incorporating new tools, receiving recommendations, And we receive elements of analysis that we find very useful for us.”
In Mendoza, the project aims to accompany the Bank in developing tools and products that will allow it to standardize/enhance the participation of its portfolio in investments with positive environmental and social impact.
Therefore, as happened in the northern provinces of our country, a survey of production models and sustainable production practices, and their financial needs, will be conducted in all sectors prevalent in the territory, and interviews will be conducted with government, private and civil sectors. the society.
In order to add a partner representing civil society to the public-private alliance of Banco Nacion and SMS, in Mendoza, the following will also be part of the project: Finandes (Fundación Finanzas y Desarrollo), a leading organization on the subject of financial inclusion in Argentina, headquartered in the county.
Javier Lombardi, General Coordinator of Finandes, was interested in integrating the project because a preference for impact funding is one of the focus of the work. In turn, it will have an important role in communicating with relevant local actors, in both the private and public spheres.
They have the support of the provincial government and have already had their first meeting with Under Secretary of Finance Ignacio Barbera, who has expressed interest in the project and offered government cooperation, said Marc Benhamo, SMS Senior Sustainability Advisor and Project Leader. from the province.
SMS, Banco Nación, Mendoza, UK PACT is a capacity building program under the UK’s International Climate Finance Portfolio, which aims to slow the progress of climate change while reducing poverty. To do this, it provides support to various countries to achieve their carbon emission reduction targets, always under the premise of mitigating climate change.
SMS Latin America is an international organization whose member firms specialize in auditing, tax advice and corporate advisory services. Since 2008, it has been accepted as a full member of the Corporate Forum, a committee of global companies (under the supervision of the International Federation of Accountants) that operate in accordance with international auditing and quality control standards. SMS Latin America has offices in 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and forms an organization of more than 1,800 professionals.
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