Standard Chartered has announced the launch of its Sustainable Account, a solution that enables its corporate clients to contribute to sustainable development while maintaining daily access to their cash.
The international banking group has introduced the solution into the UK and the United Arab Emirates, with plans to rollout to other markets over the next year.
In respect of the difficulties organisations face in balancing their liquidity management needs with a commitment to sustainability, Standard Chartered says the solution offers clients the flexibility of an account where they can retain access to their cash for day-to-day liquidity requirements as well as use surplus cash to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Cash placed into the Sustainable Account will be referenced against projects aligned with the bank’s Green and Sustainable Product Framework. This framework guides what qualifies as ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ and is mapped against the SDGs.
Developed with the support of Sustainalytics, an independent provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, corporate clients do not need to allocate additional resources for separate assessments. They can also understand the impact of the sustainable finance assets that their deposits are referenced against by referring to the bank’s Sustainable Finance Impact Report.
Commenting on the launch, Michael Spiegel, global head of Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered, says: “Sustainable Account caters to the increasing demand from corporate clients for simple, innovative and credible sustainable banking solutions. It builds on our existing sustainable trade finance and export letter of credit propositions and is in line with our efforts to offer our clients a holistic sustainable transaction banking offering.”
