The bank is opening up new avenues in sustainable financing for corporate and retail clients to boost meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,

After positive feedback from similar measures in Europe, Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) will offer a sustainable deposit in US dollars for corporate and individual clients in Singapore to help drive more capital into sustainable projects. The emerging markets specialist said that liquidity raised through the new product will help finance activities in developing countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Following positive reactions in May, the bank launched a sustainable deposit for European investors, whereby every dollar deposited is set against sustainable assets that support the SDGs.

The backdrop for banks becoming more decisive on green finance is the $2.5 trillion a year figure which the UN estimates is needed to achieve the SDGs just in developing countries, a shortfall the public sector or banks can’t meet alone. Global financial institutions have been getting ever more creative and vocal about their efforts to diversify funding sources and unlock more private capital for addressing long-term threats such as climate change, financial exclusion, and a lack of access to healthcare and education.

“While green deposits dedicated to renewable energy are increasing in popularity, this is the first time any bank has launched a deposit product linked to sustainability and the SDGs." StanChart’s Singapore CEO, Patrick Lee, added that it “offers both retail and corporate clients an opportunity to address global challenges such as poverty and inequality in some of the world’s fastest growing economies."

The deposit is being launched under the bank's new Green and Sustainable Product Framework, developed with ESG research firm Sustainalytics. The bank said the framework would be the basis for future efforts to help fund the SDGs across its territory, especially in developing countries, where its presence is strong.

“In corporate banking and asset management, we have seen a mainstreaming of environmental and social governance in risk management, financing decisions, and investment analysis,” Lee said.

The global lender’s 2019 Sustainable Investing Review showed that 68 per cent of high net worth investors want to help create a better future through sustainable investing. Singapore still has the highest number of HNW investors in Asia (43 per cent) who are knowledgeable about sustainable investing, and this is expected to grow, the bank said.

“We are taking cue from our clients to make sustainable retail banking a reality,” Lee said.