Standard Bank to exceed 2022 green financing target
Standard Bank will exceed its green financing target of R50-billion this year, as South Africa's scrapping of regulations on self-generated renewable energy projects has spurred a rush for financing, a top executive said.
Africa's most developed economy is facing rolling, hours-long blackouts due largely to breakdowns at ageing coal-fired power plants operated by debt-crippled State utility Eskom.
The crisis pushed President Cyril Ramaphosa to scrap licensing requirements in July for companies seeking to set up their own solar and wind capacity.
"That was a huge constraint," Kenny Fihla, Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
"The lifting of the limit on self-generation has actually just opened up the space for the private sector."
Fihla said Africa's biggest lender by assets has already disbursed around R40-billion of the R50-billion it had earmarked for sustainable projects this year. It expects to close the year having disbursed R65-billion to R70-billion, he said.
Standard Bank set a target to finance R250-billion to R300-billion worth of sustainable projects between 2021 and 2026 as part of a plan to cut its Scope 3 emissions, those caused by its financing of fossil fuel projects.
"We are likely to get to R250-billion to R300-billion possibly much sooner than the six-year time horizon," he said.
Standard Bank has faced criticism from some shareholders and activists, who say it is not doing enough to cut its exposure to fossil fuel projects.
Controversial projects include past funding of coal-fired power plants, its advisory role in TotalEnergies' 1 443-km East African Crude Oil Pipeline and its support for a major gas project in Mozambique.
"Our targets are not at all intended to prolong the use of oil or gas. That's not the intention," Fihla said.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation