India has the potential to be amongst the top 3 countries globally in the next five years in terms of installed capacity of Renewable Energy
Mumbai, February 15, 2016: YES BANK, India’s 5th largest private sector Bank, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to foster development of the Renewable Energy Sector in India. The MoU was signed by Mr. Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO, YES BANK and Mr. S. K. Popli, Chairman & Managing Director, IREDA during the Make in India Week today.
The strategic MoU will boost green energy financing & enable close partnership between both institutions to create a supporting framework for funding of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency projects. YES BANK will also support the initiatives of IREDA in the development of these critical sectors.
Speaking about the MoU, Mr. Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO, YES BANK and Chairman, YES Institute, said, “YES BANK’s partnership with IREDA is a significant joint effort towards actualizing the Government’s mission of 175 GW of Clean energy by 2022. YES BANK is fully committed to play the role of a catalyst and work towards unlocking innovative financial mechanisms for Renewable Energy projects and this MoU will strengthen our efforts towards meeting our COP 21 commitment of mobilizing USD 5 Billion for climate action by 2020.”
Speaking about the partnership, Mr. S K Popli, CMD, IREDA said, “IREDA is committed to developing innovative financing mechanisms and promoting self sustaining investments towards Renewable energy projects. This MoU and partnership with YES BANK, which has been pioneering green infra financing in India, will further cement our efforts towards ensuring that India addresses its power needs in a sustainable fashion.”
This MoU further reinforces YES BANK’s focus on Renewable Energy and multiple strategic initiatives undertaken towards supporting Govt. of India’s vision of establishing 175 GW of Renewable Energy capacity in India by 2022.
Speaking at the Session on International Financing for Renewable Energy and Manufacturing at the Seminar on Renewable Energy during the Make In India Week, Mumbai, Mr. Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO, YES BANK and Chairman, YES Institute said, “India has the potential to be amongst the top 3 countries globally in the next five years in terms of installed capacity of renewable energy, thereby creating millions of new jobs, reducing poverty and achieving sustained socioeconomic development. We believe that banks, as central players in an economy, should influence and facilitate positive impact. YES BANK strives to set an industry benchmark towards creating a sustainable ecosystem and serve our customers, clients, employees and communities better.”
YES BANK had committed to target funding 500 MW of clean energy every year at the UN Climate Summit in New York in 2014 and topped the target with funding for 1,100 MW of projects in that year. YES BANK was also the first bank to give the “Green Energy Commitment” to the Govt. of India during RE-INVEST 2015, for financing 5,000 MW of renewable energy projects in 5 years.
In February 2015, YES BANK became the 1st Bank in India to issue a Green Infrastructure Bond with an issue size of INR 1,000 Cr (oversubscribed 2x). This was followed by INR 315 Crore Green Bond issuance in July 2015, subscribed by IFC Washington, marking IFC’s first investment in an Emerging Markets Green Bond and was subsequently listed on the London Stock Exchange in August 2015.
At the recently concluded COP 21 summit in Paris in December 2015, YES BANK has committed to target mobilizing USD 5 Billion towards Climate Change initiatives. In January 2016, YES BANK also formalized its MoU with the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) to develop bonds and equity issuances, with a particular focus on the relatively untapped sector of Green Infrastructure Finance. As part of the agreement with LSEG, YES BANK announced that it plans to list a Green Bond of up to USD 500 Million on London Stock Exchange by December 2016.
YES BANK has financed over 2,000 MW of renewable energy projects in 2015 through underwriting, co-financing, refinancing, securitization, and several other innovative financing structures including underwriting India’s first IIFCL-ADB backed Credit Enhanced, secured listed & rated NCDs in the solar energy sector.