Standard Chartered Bank Launches EUR 1 Billion 8-Year Non-Call 7-Year Social Bond to Facilitate Lending to SMEs, Finance Access to Essential Services (Healthcare & Education) & Facilitate Investment into Affordable Basic Infrastructure & Food Security
12th March 2025 | Hong Kong
Standard Chartered Bank has announced the launch of EUR 1 billion 8-year non-call 7-year Social Bond to facilitate lending to SMEs, finance access to essential services (healthcare & education) & facilitate investment into affordable basic infrastructure & food security. Announcement (11/3/25): “Standard Chartered, a leading international cross-border bank connecting the world’s most dynamic markets, has today issued its first-ever Social Bond, which will support the sustainable development of low-income countries across the bank’s emerging market footprint. The EUR 1 billion 8-year Non-Call 7 year offering will primarily facilitate lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), ensuring access to finance, helping create jobs and empowering and nurturing women-owned SMEs. Proceeds will also finance access to essential services including healthcare and education, and will facilitate investment into affordable basic infrastructure and food security, in line with the social activities set out in the Bank’s Sustainability Bond Framework. Today, around USD4.2 trillion in annual investment is needed across emerging markets to facilitate sustainable development, build resilience across businesses and communities, and facilitate enduring growth. Bridging this gap requires the mobilisation of private sector capital into these markets, channelling finance towards outcomes that are critical to inclusive, long-term prosperity. The proceeds raised from this inaugural social issuance will reference Standard Chartered’s Sustainable Finance asset pool, which includes USD5.5 billion in social assets – with 99 per cent of these located in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This ensures that capital raised through this issuance will support markets where the demand for finance is acute. The top five countries where Standard Chartered’s social assets are located include India (57%), Malaysia (10%), Bangladesh (6%), Mainland China (5%), and Nepal (4%) … … Standard Chartered’s Sustainable Finance asset pool is defined by the bank’s Sustainability Bond Framework. In September 2024, the bank reported USD23.3 billion in total Sustainable Finance assets with 78 per cent of these located in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.”
“ Standard Chartered Bank Launches EUR 1 Billion 8-Year Non-Call 7-Year Social Bond to Facilitate Lending to SMEs, Finance Access to Essential Services (Healthcare & Education) & Facilitate Investment into Affordable Basic Infrastructure & Food Security “
Diego De Giorgi, Group Chief Financial Officer at Standard Chartered: “Our first social issuance is an important milestone for the bank and demonstrates Standard Chartered’s unique ability to raise capital in the world’s largest financial centres and deploy it across borders, into those markets where the need for sustainable finance is most acute. As a bank that sits at the centre of capital, trade and investment flows, across both developed and developing economies, this issuance highlights how the bank is providing financial solutions to support the enduring growth of our markets.”
Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer at Standard Chartered: “This first Social bond issuance underscores our commitment to people, communities and businesses, and provides a unique opportunity to mobilise capital at scale towards inclusive growth and development across our markets. The fact that 99 per cent of our social assets are located in Asia, Africa and the Middle East is a differentiating factor for us as an organisation and enables us to offer clients a dynamic sustainability proposition to jointly drive impact across our footprint.”
Daniel Hodge, Group Treasurer at Standard Chartered: “Investors in our Sustainable Finance offering enjoy the benefit of facing a UK-regulated Bank counterparty, while the impact delivered through our products and in this case, through our first Social bond, takes place in many of the most dynamic and high-growth developing markets.”
Salman Ansari, Global Head, Capital Markets at Standard Chartered: “This is the Group’s first Social bond issuance, following three successful Sustainability bonds issued by Standard Chartered PLC. The transaction underlines the bank’s commitment to inclusive growth and development, and is aligned with our brand promise, Here for Good. The oversubscription of this issuance indicates the continued strong global investor demand for our credit and differentiated Sustainability story.”
Standard Chartered Bank Launches EUR 1 Billion 8-Year Non-Call 7-Year Social Bond to Facilitate Lending to SMEs, Finance Access to Essential Services (Healthcare & Education) & Facilitate Investment into Affordable Basic Infrastructure & Food Security
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