KB Financial Group Wins Top ESG Award... The Only Financial Company with 'A+' in All Categories

Selected as the 'Top ESG Company' and ranked 1st among financial companies in the ESG Excellence category

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] On the 27th, KB Financial Group was selected as the ‘ESG Best Company,’ ranking first among financial companies in the ESG Excellence category at the '2020 KCGS Excellent Companies Awards' hosted by the Korea Corporate Governance Service (KCGS).

KB Financial Group received this honor based on its ESG achievements, including ▲establishing a company-wide environmental management decision-making system, ▲efforts to fulfill social responsibilities to key stakeholders, and ▲achieving excellent levels in the board of directors and management succession programs as well as performance evaluation systems.

KB Financial Group was previously selected as the ‘Best Governance Company’ for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 in the governance evaluation by the Korea Corporate Governance Service, becoming the first domestic financial company to achieve this. This year, it earned an A+ rating across all categories?integrated grade, Environment (E), Social (S), and Governance (G)?and was again recognized as the ‘ESG Best Company,’ reaffirming its objective capabilities in ESG management.

KB Financial Group is rapidly advancing ESG management at the group level. In September 2019, it established the group’s ESG strategic direction, and in March of this year, it became the first domestic financial company to create an ‘ESG Committee’ within the board of directors, including Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu and all inside and outside directors, laying the foundation for spreading ESG management.

In August, the group announced ‘KB Green Way 2030,’ aiming to reduce the group’s carbon emissions by 25% compared to 2017 levels by 2030 and to expand ‘ESG products, investments, and loans’ from the current approximately KRW 20 trillion to KRW 50 trillion. In September, it declared ‘coal phase-out finance,’ becoming the first domestic financial group to do so and leading the transition to a low-carbon economy.

A KB Financial Group official said, “As a result of continuously expanding group-level ESG management by consolidating capabilities centered on the ESG Committee, we were selected as the ESG Best Company in the Korea Corporate Governance Service’s ESG evaluation,” adding, “KB Financial will continue to strengthen its responsibilities and roles as a leading ESG company and take the lead in practicing ESG management to create future value.”