In November, Standard Chartered launched an account designed to offer corporates access to cash for day-to-day liquidity requirements while using surplus funds to support the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
Michael Spiegel, global head of transaction banking at Standard Chartered, tells Euromoney that the account was introduced in response to client demand for a product where specific end-of-day balances are referenced against green projects financed by the bank.
“We provide clients with visibility on the independently verified impact of the referenced projects through our sustainable finance impact report,” he explains.
The account – which is available in the UK and UAE and will be rolled out to other markets over the next year – was developed in conjunction with environmental, social and governance research and ratings provider Sustainalytics.
Interpretations
Many institutions have referred to the challenge of accessing reliable and verifiable data on ESG compliance.
This stems from the different interpretations that relate to ESG compliance in trade finance and what can be tagged as a sustainable trade transaction, given the lack of a global framework or single consistent standard for sustainable trade.
Global trade transactions are complex and often not easy to track since they typically involve a few different banks, companies and processes across different industries and multiple markets.
“We
