ESG & Investing

HSBC, StanChart Explore ‘Transition’ Credits for Coal Clients

  • Such credits remain controversial and are unregulated
  • The instruments mean banks can hold on to coal clients
A coal-fueled power station in Germany. Some banks consider coal too dirty to touch.Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
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HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc are working on a new kind of financial instrument that’s designed to monetize the shift away from high-carbon assets.

The so-called transition credits would represent the difference between the emissions that would have been, had a coal-power client continued its business as usual, versus the lower level of emissions achieved by retiring a coal plant early.