Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability releases 2026 ESG ratings

Social sector earns A+ for 4th straight year; environment sector A+ for 3rd straight year

Governance holds A rating as community co-growth efforts bear fruit

A view of BNK Financial Group [BNK Financial Group]
A view of BNK Financial Group [BNK Financial Group]

BNK Financial Group announced Friday that it earned an integrated A rating for the fifth consecutive year in the 2026 ESG assessment released by the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability (KCGS), extending its track record in sustainable management. The group also achieved an A+ rating in the social sector for the fourth straight year and in the environmental sector for the third straight year.

In the social sector, BNK Financial has sustained a broad range of community co-growth initiatives — including industrial finance to nurture key regional industries, shared-growth financing for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners, support for financially vulnerable groups, and financial consumer protection. The group has focused particularly on productive finance tailored to the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongnam region to strengthen local industrial competitiveness and expand finance's social role. "These sustained co-growth efforts have made BNK the only financial holding company to maintain an A+ rating in the social sector for four consecutive years as of 2026," a company official said.

In the environmental sector, BNK Financial continues to advance climate-change response and green finance expansion. The group has upgraded its financed-emissions management framework and broadened sustainable marine finance, while recently partnering with Busan city and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation to strengthen financial support for climate-tech companies — actively contributing to the low-carbon transition of regional industries and the development of an eco-friendly industrial ecosystem.

BNK Financial also retained an A rating in the governance sector, earning recognition for stable governance management capabilities. The group has reinforced a board-centered transparent decision-making structure, upgraded group-wide internal controls and compliance management, and strengthened ESG risk management to build a sustainable management foundation.

Major subsidiaries likewise earned A ratings in the governance assessment. Busan Bank maintained an A rating for the second consecutive year, while Kyongnam Bank rose one notch to A from B+ the previous year.

"Earning an integrated ESG A rating for five consecutive years reflects our sustained efforts toward community co-growth and the expansion of eco-friendly finance," a BNK Financial Group official said. "We will continue to fulfill our role as a sustainable financial group that grows together with local communities."

Meanwhile, the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability is South Korea's leading ESG rating agency, conducting annual comprehensive assessments of the sustainable management performance of domestic listed companies across the environmental, social and governance dimensions.


kaf2002@heraldcorp.com