SNB Executes 1st ESG Repo Transaction, worth $250 million

Saudi National Bank (SNB), successfully, executed its first Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria, ‘Use of Proceeds’ repurchase agreement transaction (Repo) with Standard Chartered Bank, last October.

The $250 million transaction is the first, in the Middle East and North Africa .(MENA), in general, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in particular.

And amongst the first few globally carried out, where the Repo financing proceeds were allocated towards ESG assets.

SNB will be allocating the proceeds of the financing towards several large renewable energy projects, as well as green initiatives, in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC member states’ region.

This landmark deal is an impressive feat, following Saudi Arabia’s recent pledge to cut its carbon emissions to net zero by 2060, and to join the Global Methane Pledge, working to lower global methane emissions by 2030.

SNB has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to sustainable finance to support green growth, in markets, they operate in.

Furthermore, the structure is part of a growing sustainable finance product suite, enabling banks to align their lending portfolios with ESG goals, and act as a catalyst in the transformation to a greener economy.

N.B.

SNB was the first institution in MENA, and private sector company in the Kingdom, to publish a report on sustainability in 2008.