Sustainability in Financial Services | Business Redefined

Stanbic Bank Kenya closed 2025 having 'greened' 9.0% of its credit portfolio, 100.0bps higher than the previous year. In 2025, the bank disbursed Kes 4.5 billion worth of financing towards green buildings; Kes 2.5 billion towards climate smart agriculture & another Kes 273.0 million towards solar energy. The bank's Ag. Chief Executive Officer, Abraham Ongenge, argues that as far as sustainability financing goes, the tide has turned. The challenge is not any more so much the inadequacy of bankable projects, but rather whether one can find adequate patient & low cost capital to meet the pipeline of projects without an aggressive yield demand. In the recent past, Kenya has seen two issuers go to the capital markets & raised debt via green notes, both of which not only attracted strong over-subscription but also pushed the market on pricing. Notably, Safaricom Plc's 5-year note at 10.4% stretched the limits of what we'd consider tight credit spreads for issuers deemed to be of strong investment grade. I asked Ongenge whether Stanbic Bank Kenya, with a strong balance sheet & the backing of a strong parent entity, could be looking to follow this route as it scouts for low priced financing for its sustainability.  
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