Nedbank, SA’s fifth-largest bank by market value, is targeting renewable energy projects as a major growth driver as it seeks to capitalise on the global transition to a more environmentally sustainable economic system.

The lender, which has been almost entirely unbundled from Old Mutual apart from a 7.2% stake, has positioned itself as SA’s leading green financier thanks to the R30bn worth of projects it has already financed as part of SA’s highly successful Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP). Nedbank’s board has increased its appetite for renewable projects by a further R20bn, taking its total commitment to the green energy sector to R50bn...