Letters of credit (L/Cs) are one of Standard Chartered's focus offerings in its launch of a new suite of sustainable trade finance solutions across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

The bank's new Sustainable Trade Finance Proposition is designed to help companies implement more sustainable practices across their ecosystems and build more resilient supply chains.

Initial focus

The proposition builds the Loan Market Association's green and sustainability-linked loan principles into Standard Chartered's trade financing framework, encouraging clients to improve disclosure, reporting and definition of use, while meeting their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

The initial focus will be on L/Cs, supply chain finance, invoice financing, receivables services, bonds and guarantees, with additional products expected in due course.

Green examples

Examples of the bank's sustainable trade finance solutions include an import invoice finance facility for an electric vehicle manufacturer and trade finance solutions for renewable energy companies.

The bank has also provided a sustainability-linked supply chain finance solution for an international sportswear manufacturer, linked to their ESG and sustainability performance to incentivise more sustainable practices across the supply chain.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.