BNEF says Japan's MUFG is top green energy financier

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) is the number-one lead arranger of asset financing for green energy projects globally in the first 10 months of 2016 with USD 1.88 billion (EUR 1.7bn).

The analysis, released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and cited by Bloomberg, puts Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc on the second spot with USD 1.52 billion. The two Japanese banks both outshine 2015’s leader, Banco Santander SA (BME:SAN), which for now occupies the third position.

Ali Izadi-Najafabadi, a BNEF analyst based in Tokyo, is cited as saying that MUFG’s participation in the financing of the 588-MW Beatrice offshore wind project in Scottish Territorial waters helped the bank climb to the top position this year. The analyst explains that renewable energy projects with long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) or other guaranteed incentives are attractive for Japanese banks, especially given the low returns at home after the adoption of negative-rate policy.

BNEF released the figures ahead of the “Future of Energy” summit in Shanghai on November 1-2.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.91)

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