About

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) is one of the largest universal banks in the Philippines. Established in 1960, RCBC and its subsidiaries offer investment banking, retail financing, remittance, leasing, foreign exchange, and stock brokering, as well as traditional banking.

Business type: Bank

Product: Essential Indicators with the PACTA Plug-In

Country of operation: the Philippines

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RCBC’s climate approach

At the forefront of sustainable finance in the Philippines, RCBC is an encouraging example of how banks in the region can start to align their lending portfolios with global climate goals. By using the Paris Agreement Capital Transition Assessment (PACTA) and partnering with Asset Impact, RCBC is demonstrating best practice in not only managing climate risks and aligning with regulatory guidelines but also actively contributing to a low-carbon future in the region.

RCBC’s climate strategy is centered around its Sustainable Finance Framework, which prioritizes financing projects with clear environmental and social benefits. The bank is the first in Asia to use the PACTA model, a forward-looking climate scenario analysis tool, and climate stress tests to measure transition risk. This proactive approach enables RCBC to support the Philippine Central Bank’s climate risk analysis guidelines directives while advancing its sustainability objectives.

A key pillar of RCBC’s climate approach is its role as the sole Philippine bank signatory to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF). Using the PCAF methodology, RCBC measures the financed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its lending activities, equivalent to the Bank’s Scope 3GHG emissions account for a large majority of its total emissions, providing a baseline for assessing its indirect climate impact.

What is PACTA?

PACTA is a tool developed to help financial institutions align their portfolios with the Paris Agreement’s climate goals. PACTA uses forward-looking asset-based data to assess whether financial portfolios are on track to meet global climate scenarios over time. For RCBC, this model serves as a critical component in evaluating climate risks, including transition risks, and identifying alignment opportunities within its power generation lending portfolio.  It also helps affirm RCBC’s declaration in December 2020 to cease funding for the construction of new coal-fired power plants.

Leveraging asset-based data

RCBC integrates Asset Impact’s forward-looking production data for companies in its power generation portfolio into the PACTA model. The data enables the bank to:

• Compare its portfolio against globally accepted climate reference scenarios across short- and long-term horizons
• Conduct climate stress tests to evaluate the potential impact of transition risks on borrowers' financial health, including probabilities of default and expected credit losses

By using Asset Impact’s data, RCBC has been able to strengthen its climate scenario analysis, improve measurement of its financed emissions, support compliance with regulatory reporting, and correlate such with its strategy to steer its lending portfolio toward renewable energy projects.

"As the first Philippine bank to pioneer quantitative tools in climate risk analysis, we recognize that sustainability goes beyond numbers—it’s about understanding the deeper impact of our actions. By integrating independent forward-thinking with data, we are not just measuring risks, but contributing to a more resilient and responsible future for all.”

Armi Lamberte, Chief Sustainability Officer, Sustainable Finance Division, Risk Management Group, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation

Looking to the future

RCBC plans to continue its annual measurement of financed GHG emissions using AssetImpact data and PCAF methodologies as part of its strategy to establish a comprehensive baseline and expand its scope to include financed GHG emissions across all sectors. Using this data, RCBC plans to eventually move toward a target-setting phase.  

As the Philippine banking industry evolves, RCBC remains a leader in the region, driving decarbonization through its lending activities. With a portfolio now transitioning away from coal-fired power projects and a focus on renewable energy projects, RCBC is actively contributing to Southeast Asia’s low-carbon energy transformation. By engaging with clients to adopt greener technologies, the bank demonstrates how financial institutions can help drive industry-wide decarbonization.

RCBC’s partnership with Asset Impact underscores the potential of asset-based data used in conjunction with internationally developed tools like PACTA and PCAF in advancing sustainable finance efforts.

If your institution is looking to measure financed emissions, align with global climate scenarios, or strengthen climate risk analysis, discover how Asset Impact’s data and tools can support your sustainability objectives.

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