Standard Chartered Bank Kenya’s revenue from financing green projects more than doubled to Sh2.99 billion last year, growing 131.8 percent from the Sh1.29 billion realised a year earlier.
The lender says in latest disclosures that sustainable finance revenue includes those generated from green, social and sustainable lending, as well as from clients recognised as green, social or sustainable pure plays.
Pure play clients refer to companies that generate at least 90 percent of their revenues from activities outlined in the bank’s green and sustainable product framework.
The revenue from these activities had earlier grown from Sh129 million in 2022, with the trend reflecting enhanced greening of the economy and coming amidst regulatory and international pressures for all firms to report on sustainability measures.
“Our CIB (Corporate and Investment Banking) sustainable finance revenue rose to Sh2.99 billion in 2024 from Sh1.29 billion in 2023, representing a 132 percent year on year growth,” wrote StanChart in its latest sustainability report.
The lender had, in 2023, ventured into carbon trading as part of its sustainability agenda. Carbon trading refers to the buying and selling of carbon credits – which are essentially tokens for the reduction of carbon emissions paid for by emitters.
Last year, StanChart’s sustainable finance earnings dropped to Sh175 million down from the Sh500 million booked in 2023 when the income category was first recorded, while similar revenue from transaction banking rose to Sh2.8 billion up from Sh780 million in 2023.
Sustainable finance income from its wealth and retail banking business more than doubled to Sh31 million, up from Sh14 million during the year.
The rise in green financing revenue partially helped the lender’s overall full-year profit to jump 45 percent to Sh20.1 billion, prompting it to declare a record final dividend of Sh13.9 billion or Sh37 per share.
Stanchart had earlier paid an interim dividend of Sh8 per share in October last year, pushing the total dividend payout for the year to Sh45 per share.
