SDB bank, Hayleys Fentons sign MoU for sustainable building solutions with innovative financing

In a historic partnership entered into on Tuesday, 24 August, SDB bank and Hayleys Fentons have come together to promote sustainable solutions relating to energy and built environment through innovative customer value propositions, in what represents a fresh direction involving new markets for both entities.

The initiative marks an expansion of SDB bank’s banking and financial services portfolio, with the bank now offering loan and lease facilities for sustainable energy and sustainable built environment solutions to their diverse customer base across MSME, Business Banking, Retail, Leasing and Cooperative segments.

Fentons Ltd., a pioneering engineering firm in Sri Lanka with a 100-year legacy, operating as Hayleys Fentons since 2019 upon becoming a part of the Hayleys Group, is set to offer their solar PV installation services plus energy efficiency and green building solutions to SDB bank’s customers island-wide, drawing on the bank’s network of 94 branches island-wide. 

As part of this initiative, SDB bank will provide attractive financing propositions for solar PV systems across their varied customer segments, with Hayleys Fentons offering a 5% discount on their listed price to SDB bank clients.

Furthermore, SDB bank’s SME, Cooperative and High Net Worth clients will be able to avail structured financial solutions from the bank, in support of their bids for CEB tenders involving utility scale projects such as those tendered in the Ground Mounted Solar segment.

The partnership will further allow the bank to contribute strongly to Sri Lanka’s goal of sourcing 70% of the island’s electricity requirement through renewable energy by 2030 (as committed in Sri Lanka’s Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement). Activities undertaken within this partnership, such as those relating to awareness raising on sustainable solutions and enabling access to technology and financing, are expected to yield a significant positive contribution in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in relation to SDG 07 on Affordable and Clean Energy and SDG 13 on Climate Action. 

Additionally, the cooperation with Hayleys Fentons will reinforce SDB bank’s ambition to reduce its internal environmental footprint, with the two entities working closely to review the potential of green building and sustainable energy solutions across SDB bank’s office and branch network. The bank has already commenced assessments of bank’s branch rooftops to assess the feasibility of installing Solar PV rooftop systems. The bank will also review energy management and health and safety solutions, when making decisions relating to renovations of premises and new branch locations. 

As a founding signatory to Sri Lanka Banks’ Association’s Sustainable Banking Initiative (SLBA SBI), SDB bank is proactively seeking opportunities to advance Sri Lanka’s transition to a Green Economy. The new financing propositions enabled through this partnership with Hayleys Fentons will not only allow SDB bank to further its voluntary industry commitments but it will also allow the bank to play a catalytic role in mobilising on the national Roadmap for Sustainable Finance declared by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 

The partnership between SDB bank and Hayleys Fentons represents a step in a new direction for the bank, as it continues its journey of uplifting the national economy while creating positive societal and environmental impact island-wide.