KB Financial Group announced Wednesday that it earned the title of the first and only Korean financial firm to receive the top AAA rating on the 2022 MSCI ESG Index -- an index organized by Morgan Stanley Capital International which evaluates companies based on their environmental, social and governance performance.

The MSCI ESG Index measures a company’s management of long-term, financially relevant ESG risks and opportunities relative to their peers, according to MSCI. The rating categories include "leader," "average" and laggard. The highest rating, AAA, is only given to the top 6 percent of 198 companies in the banking industry category.

This year, KB Financial scored above average in the corporate governance, sustainable finance and customer information protection categories.

The group credits its ESG management system as the reason it has been recognized by not only the MSCI Index but others as well, including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability. Notably, its ESG committee acts as the main decision-making body of this system, establishing strategies and policies as well as monitoring the performance of ESG-related products, investments and loans.

KB has solidified its commitment to fighting climate change and promoting sustainability with projects such as KB Net Zero S.T.A.R, the group’s main strategy for carbon emission reduction, and Green Wave 2030, which aims to expand ESG finance measures.

In an effort to become a more equitable workplace, the group is also implementing a long-term strategy called KB Diversity 2027, which outlines plans for expanding class and gender diversity within the group significantly by 2027.