• €1 billion raised to fund SMEs and essential services in low-income countries.
• 99% of social assets targeted towards Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
• Addresses a global shortfall of $4.2 trillion needed annually for sustainable development.

Standard Chartered launched its first-ever Social Bond—a €1 billion issuance designed to support sustainable development in low-income countries by enhancing access to finance, essential services, and infrastructure.

Funds from the 8-year Non-Call 7-year bond will primarily target SMEs, job creation, women-owned enterprises, healthcare, education, basic infrastructure, and food security. The initiative aligns with the bank’s Sustainability Bond Framework.

“Our first social issuance is an important milestone… demonstrating Standard Chartered’s unique ability to raise capital in the world’s largest financial centres and deploy it across borders,” said Diego De Giorgi, Group CFO.

The issuance directly addresses the substantial $4.2 trillion annual gap needed to drive sustainable growth and resilience in emerging markets.

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Standard Chartered’s Sustainable Finance asset pool currently includes $5.5 billion in social assets, predominantly distributed in:

• India (57%)
• Malaysia (10%)
• Bangladesh (6%)
• China (5%)
• Nepal (4%)

“The fact that 99 per cent of our social assets are located in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East is a differentiating factor… enabling us to offer clients a dynamic sustainability proposition,” noted Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer.

Recent impactful projects funded include:

• A €22 million water infrastructure loan improving clean water access for 100,000 people in Angola’s Quiminha region.
• A €114 million SME-focused social finance package in Uzbekistan in partnership with the World Bank’s MIGA.
• Expansion of the SC Women’s International Network (WIN), significantly scaling financing and support for women-owned SMEs across multiple Asian and African markets.

Daniel Hodge, Group Treasurer, emphasized, “Investors in our Sustainable Finance offering enjoy the benefit of facing a UK-regulated Bank counterparty, while the impact… takes place in many of the most dynamic and high-growth developing markets.”

This issuance marks the fourth sustainable bond from Standard Chartered, reflecting strong global investor confidence in the bank’s sustainability strategy.

Salman Ansari, Global Head of Capital Markets, added, “The oversubscription of this issuance indicates the continued strong global investor demand for our credit and differentiated Sustainability story.”

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