The Borrowing Base Trade Loan is a secured revolving credit facility structured to meet the specific financing requirements of businesses, especially those in the commodity sector. BBTL allows businesses to obtain financing against a diverse pool of collateral, typically cash, inventory, or receivables. This helps them to manage their working capital more effectively. The financing amount is directly tied to the borrowing base and varies according to the client’s needs. This structure allows clients to consolidate multiple transactions under a single loan, simplifying their trade financing and leveraging their existing assets for secure and efficient funding.

Sofia Hammoucha, Global Head of Trade & Working Capital at Standard Chartered, says: “By integrating sustainability variants into our BBTL solution, we’re helping to empower our clients to adopt more sustainable practices. This aligns with our commitment to offering finance to help facilitate our clients’ transition towards more sustainable business practices.”

The sustainable finance variants of the BBTL integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into the financing process. These variants include recognition of facilities that support trade of eligible materials within the applicable borrowing base. For example, financing of critical metals that support energy transition or where the purpose of the financing supports qualifying activities in Standard Chartered’s Green and Sustainable Product Framework (GSPF).’

The sustainability-linked variants offer differential pricing for companies demonstrating a commitment to, and delivery of, material and ambitious sustainability-related key performance indicators (KPIs) and associated targets. Such KPIs include reducing carbon emissions, increasing the share of renewable energy within their energy supply or improving diversity among their management teams.

As part of its continued efforts to expand its sustainable finance product suite, Standard Chartered also recently launched a sustainable trade loan for Financial Institutions and an ESG-Linked Cash Account.