This recognition is in regard to the bank's involvement in funding the renewable projects in African countries and abroad, Bloomberg Markets said in a statement issued here on Thursday.
"The biggest gain in renewable energy came from a newcomer, South Africa's Standard Bank Group Ltd. ranked 12th after agreeing to underwrite 1.1 billion US dollars in government-approved projects, including 314 million dollars for solar parks, Bloomberg Markets said. "As Europe scales back and the U. S. regroups, such initiatives may become the seeds that sustain growth in the green landscape."
The Standard bank has been financing and supporting the renewable energy in South Africa. Bloomberg was accessing global banks in the reduction of their own power consumption and carbon footprints and lending to clean-energy projects.
Last year, Standard bank bought some electric bulbs in their branches which consume less energy. They also installed solar panels in their branches saving millions of dollars in electricity consumption. They also joined government in the green regime in the country.
Alastair Campbell, Executive Vice President, Power & Infrastructure Finance at Standard Bank said: "We have adopted a proactive approach to this strategic and socially important sector and actively sought out deals to underwrite. We're delighted to have our commitment to the sector acknowledged with an international no.12 ranking. as the next two to three years will continue to be a time of intense activity not just domestically in South Africa but on the African continent."
He stated that the bank has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes in the past three years, with commitment to assisting government in renewable energy program.
He added that Standard bank backed the 11 wind and solar projects valued at 9.4 billion rand (about 103 million dollars) in the government renewable energy independent power producer (REIPP) program.
The bank also assisted in the value at 7.1 billion rand (about 780 million dollars) in the second phase of the government program. Campbell added, "This leading position was made possible by our in-depth understanding of the sector and the South African market. The Bloomberg ranking represents Standard Bank's commitment to sustainability in every aspect of our business operations in South Africa and elsewhere, and is physically manifested in the structures we build. Our newer buildings are built to optimize energy efficiency."
In its rankings, Bloomberg took into account what the banks are doing in carbon footprints and their investments in clean energy and their reduction in own environmental impact.
The Standard Bank operates from 18 countries in Africa and 12 countries outside Africa. The major shareholder in the Standard Bank is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) with 20 per cent shareholding.
-(Xinhua)
