SBG Sustainable B3T2 Debt (IFC-49079)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • South Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Dec 19, 2023
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Standard Bank Group Ltd.
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Construction
  • Energy
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 300.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 300.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 300.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Mar 30, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Mar 25, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the IFC, the project consists of a Basel III compliant Tier 2 (B3T2) subordinated loan to Standard Bank Group Limited to support the growth of renewable energy and affordable housing assets of the Standard Bank of South Africa in South Africa. 

Increased availability of Climate finance: The Project will support access to climate finance, leveraging SBSA’s market position and substantial reach. The growth in the climate finance portfolio is expected to increase the supply of renewable energy in the local market, thereby reducing GHG emissions.

Increased access to housing finance. The Project will contribute to increased access to affordable housing finance in South Africa. South Africa is rapidly urbanizing, and an estimated 26% of the urban population lives in informal housing areas. The Project will increase the supply of finance to the affordable housing segment in the country, with a focus on women home buyers.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

As stated by the IFC, the Project's portfolio risk is considered medium as the renewable energy assets to be financed by IFC are not expected to have significant environmental and social (E&S) risks or impacts; therefore, the Project has been categorized as FI-2 in accordance with IFC's Sustainability Policy.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the IFC, SBG is currently Africa’s largest bank measured by total assets. SBG is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, employs almost 50,000 people across twenty countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and has international representative offices in London, New York, Dubai, and Beijing. SBG is 19.4% owned by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), 14.5% by South Africa’s Government Employee Pension Fund (PIC), and 66% by shareholders that individually hold a <5% stake. SBSA is a wholly owned subsidiary of SBG.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

General IFC Inquiries - IFC Communications:

Address: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20433
Telephone: +1 202-473-3800
Fax: +1 202-974-4384

Financial Intermediary - Standard Bank Group Ltd.:

Marc Hearn - Head of Strategic Funding
Phone: +27 11 344 5004
Email: Marc.Hearn@standardbank.co.za
Address: PO Box 61344, Guateng, South Africa
Website: https://www.standardbank.com/sbg/standard-bank-group

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works