Standard Bank’s two social bonds to fund affordable home ownership is 2.3x oversubscribed

Johannesburg, 19 August 2021: Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets, today listed two social bonds on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) that will finance borrowers looking to buy affordable housing, with a focus on female borrowers. This will target households with a gross maximum monthly income of R26 100. The issuance has raised a total of R2 billion for mortgage lending.

Prospective investors will find the bonds trading under JSE codes SBSS01 and SBSS02. The social bonds have been listed on the JSE’s Sustainability Segment, established by the Johannesburg-based bourse to assist companies to raise debt for green, social and sustainable investment projects.

Sam Mokorosi, Head: Origination and Deals at the JSE, said strong interest in social bonds reflected by their 2.3x times oversubscription was indicative of the desire by both South African corporates and investors to balance efforts in creating affordable home ownership with a special focus on empowering women.

“In line with commemorating Women’s month, Standard Bank’s initiative will help advance women empowerment, promote gender equality and inclusive economic participation. These bonds will contribute to rolling back the housing backlog across our country, which is estimated at 2.6 million units with a focus on enabling women to build an asset base,” concluded Mokorosi.

The social bonds floated by Standard Bank today have brought the number of sustainability instruments listed on the JSE’s Sustainability Segment to 29, raising the segment’s Nominal Issued Value to over R14.3 billion.

Kenny Fihla, CEO Standard Bank Wholesale Clients, said: “Standard Bank Group is excited by this, our first sustainable issuance in the local market and our first social bond. As a bank and issuer, we are serious about sustainability. We also perceive the ‘S’ pillar within ESG to be critically important, particularly in emerging markets. To be able to deliver a social bond that will have a positive impact on people across the country, but particularly on women in what is Women’s Month is quite momentous.”

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ABOUT THE JSE

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has a well-established history operating as a market place for trading financial products. It is a pioneering, globally connected exchange group that enables inclusive economic growth through trusted, world class, socially responsible products, and services for the investor of the future. It offers secure and efficient primary and secondary capital markets across a diverse range of securities, spanning equities, derivatives, and debt markets. It prides itself as being the market of choice for local and international investors looking to gain exposure to leading capital markets on the African continent. The JSE is currently ranked in the Top 20 largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalisation, and is the largest stock exchange in Africa, having been in operation for over 130 years.

As a leading global exchange, the JSE co-creates, unlocks value & makes real connections happen.

www.jse.co.za 

 About Standard Bank Group

Standard Bank Group is the largest African bank by assets, operating in 20 African countries and 5 global financial centres. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, we are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with share code SBK, and the Namibian Stock Exchange, share code SNB.

Standard Bank has a 158-year history in South Africa and started building a franchise outside southern Africa in the early 1990s.

Our strategic position, which enables us to connect Africa to other select emerging markets as well as pools of capital in developed markets, and our balanced portfolio of businesses, provide significant opportunities for growth.

The group has over 50 000 employees, more than 1100 branches and over 6500 ATMs on the African continent, which enable it to deliver a complete range of services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking and wealth management. 

Headline earnings for 2020 were R15.9 billion and total assets were R2.5 trillion (about USD170 billion). Standard Bank’s market capitalisation as of 31 December 2020 was R209.4 billion (USD14 billion).

The group’s largest shareholder is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank, with a 20.1% shareholding. In addition, Standard Bank Group and ICBC share a strategic partnership that facilitates trade and deal flow between Africa, China and select emerging markets.

For further information, go to http://www.standardbank.com

For more information please contact

Refilwe Masemola

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +27 71 3838 718