Shinhan Bank said on Jan. 26 it was selected on Jan. 23 as the global category winner at the 2025 Sustainable Finance Awards hosted by the Japan Institute for Environmental Finance.

The Japan Institute for Environmental Finance's Sustainable Finance Awards began in 2015 and are in their 11th edition this year. They are regarded as an award with history and prestige, alongside sustainability awards hosted by Japan's environment ministry and the Tokyo metropolitan government.

Shinhan Bank said it won the award in recognition of issuing the first transition bond in the samurai bond market last year, opening up Japan's transition finance market, and of systematically advancing transition finance.

Transition finance supports the gradual shift of high-carbon industries toward environmentally friendly practices, on the premise of emissions-reduction pathways and implementation performance. It expands coverage to industries in transition that are difficult to include under green finance alone, and is drawing attention at home and abroad as an alternative for financial firms seeking to shift to environmentally friendly portfolios.

With the government expected to establish transition finance guidelines, Shinhan Financial Group set a "group transition finance guideline" in May 2025 to respond proactively to the global spread of transition finance. Shinhan Bank then issued samurai transition bonds totalling 40 billion yen in Japan's bond market in November last year to strengthen its ability to execute transition finance.

Such transition finance also aligns with the government's K-GX policy and the policy direction for productive finance.

Transition finance pursues a mid- to long-term shift to a low-carbon economy while supporting sustainable industrial growth through capital investment and technological innovation, creating a structure in which financial capital flows into productive parts of the real economy. Shinhan Bank said it views this as a key pillar of productive finance and plans to continue upgrading related financial systems in line with policy direction and institutional changes.

A Shinhan Bank official said, "Transition finance is an important pillar of productive finance that supports sustainable growth for industry and the economy beyond being environmentally friendly." The official added, "We will continue to push transition finance and green finance in a balanced way in step with the government's policy direction."