Standard Bank Group Limited (SBK) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to the 52nd Annual General Meeting of Standard Bank Group Limited. As you are aware, the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have once again made it impossible for this year's AGM to take the form of a gathering at the group's premises. I am, therefore, not able to address you in person, but please note that the Board still recognizes the importance of and appreciates your participation at this AGM. As stated in my invitation to shareholders, this is an opportunity for shareholders of the company to participate in discussions relating to items outlined in the notice of the meeting. Board members, chairmen of all Board committees, senior management as well as the group's external auditors are available online to respond to questions and address any matters relating to resolutions to be tabled. As you are aware, on 20th May 2021, representatives of Aeon Investment Management, Abax Investments, Visio Fund Management (Pty) Limited, Just Share NPC, together the shareholders, and Standard Bank Group, met to discuss the nonbinding advisory resolution proposed by the shareholders for inclusion in the Standard Bank Group Annual General Meeting scheduled for 27 May 2021. For reference, the proposed resolution requested that "the company and its directors include in its reporting to shareholders for the year ending 31 December 2021, the company's plans, if any, to set and publish a strategy and short-, medium- and long-term targets to reduce its exposure to fossil fuel assets on a time line aligned to the goals of the Paris Agreement, the Paris goals. Standard Bank confirmed at the meeting with the shareholders that: one, it is committed to publishing a climate strategy and short-, medium- and long-term targets to reduce its exposure to fossil fuel assets on a time [ aligned ] with the Paris goals; and two, it will do so as part of the group's 2021 reporting to shareholders. The latter will be published in the first half of 2022. The shareholders recognize that there are significant challenges associated with the setting of meaningful and credible targets across the 20 countries in Africa in which the group operates. They were encouraged that Standard Bank Group has nevertheless committed to publishing a climate strategy in its 2021 reporting to shareholders. Standard Bank Group also took the opportunity to resolve a previous misunderstanding with regard to Standard Bank Group's position on shareholders' rights to propose nonbinding advisory resolutions. Standard Bank Group is not opposed to shareholders proposing nonbinding advisory resolutions. The Board gives due consideration to all such proposed resolutions. The parties agreed to engage in a constructive manner on these matters going forward. Furthermore, it was agreed that Standard Bank Group would make a formal statement at the AGM expanding on these commitments outlined above. Accordingly, I now proceed to expand on the commitments as agreed. Standard Bank Group will publish its climate strategy in its next TCFD report. This climate strategy will be based on the following commitments: one, the group will set and publish science-based, short-term, medium-term and long-term climate targets to support meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and the goal of net zero carbon by 2050. Two, the group will adopt a phased and progressive approach to climate target setting based on the principle of materiality. As such, we will start with the material sectors that are reported on in our latest TCFD report. These sectors are oil and gas, thermal power, coal mining, renewables and agriculture. Three, the group will use appropriate climate scenarios to set short-term, medium-term and long-term climate targets in line with the Paris Agreement. Four, the group will annually report on its progress in achieving these targets in our annual TCFD report. Five, the group will annually report on actions to achieve our targets in our annual TCFD report. Six, the group will regularly review its targets in accordance with current climate science. Seven, our climate targets will apply to the bank's lending and investment activities and will include clients' emissions where material and where data allows. Scope and sector coverage will increase between each review period, subject to data availability. Eight, the group's approach to climate target setting is based on support for a just transition and the need to address Africa's energy deficit. As stated above, the framework, climate strategy and first set of climate targets will be included in our reporting to shareholders for the year ending 31 December 2021. I look forward to engaging constructively with you on this important matter of climate change. We will now proceed to the matters before us. The meeting is properly constituted, and the necessary quorum for passing a special resolution at a general meeting in terms of the Companies Act and the company's Memorandum of Incorporation is present. I can confirm that 47 members are available online or by representation and, together with members appointing proxies, indicates that 83.53% of the issued share capital is present at the meeting. I am also satisfied that the right of shareholders or their proxies to participate and vote at this meeting have been reasonably verified. A representative from Computershare will now explain the voting process and take you through a demonstration on how to navigate the Lumi AGM platform and cast your vote on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Thank you, Chair, and good morning to everybody present on this call. For those of you that are present and entitled to vote, you will have logged into the platform. And for those of you on larger devices such as laptops or computers, you will have a screen that is split in 2, similar to what I am sharing on screen now. For those of you that are on smaller devices, such as phones or tablets, your broadcast band, the little black band at the top that says Broadcast will be situated on the bottom of your screen. You will be able to toggle that band in and out in order to see the video webcast. On the left-hand side of your screen, you should have 4 icons at the top of your screen. The first icon is the information icon where you can receive various bits of information regarding the meeting. The second icon is the messaging icon, and this is where you will go to ask any questions or pose any comments to the Board. For those of you that are participating as guests, you will be able to see the questions and comments being asked, but you will not have access to the bar at the bottom as questions are only for shareholders. To ask a question, please click in the bottom bar and please type out your question, like so, and then click on the blue send key to the right of the question part. Once you send it, you will get a received message. Your message will appear in the list for all to see. Following on from that, you will have a voting icon. For those of you that are entitled to vote, if you click on that icon, you will then have an electronic ballot form in front of you with all the resolutions. All you need to do is click on the option that you wish to make. You will receive a received message per resolution that you vote for. You are able to change your mind throughout the meeting by just selecting your new option as you wish, and then you are also able to cancel your vote completely and start again. You will see that at today's AGM, we have 15 items that we need to vote on. Voting will remain open for the duration of the meeting up until nearing the end where the Chair will then close the voting, and we will then announce the results. The final icon that you have on your screen is a document vault, and this is where you are able to access the notice of the meeting. It will open in a PDF format. For those of you on mobile devices, it may open up separately in a new tab in a PDF reader. For those of you on laptops or computers, it will open in app. And that is it for the demonstration, Chair. I'll hand back to you.

Thank you, Andre. Just to repeat, questions should be submitted by selecting the messaging icon on the Lumi AGM platform. In order to facilitate the smooth operation of the meeting, please raise questions pertaining to specific resolutions as we deal with the relevant resolution. These can be typed in, as demonstrated by the Computershare representative. Written questions submitted prior to the AGM will be addressed alongside the specific resolution they relate to. Should they not relate to a specific resolution, they will also be addressed during the general question-and-answer session. I confirm that there is no moderation of questions from shareholders and that there is no intermediary in the interaction. Questions will appear on the screen as submitted by shareholders and will be read out prior to answers being given. With regard to Resolution #4, the holders of the second preference shares shall be entitled to vote and, subject to the provisions of the company's Memorandum of Incorporation, are entitled to that proportion of the total votes in the company, with the aggregate amount of the nominal value of the shares held by such shareholders as to the aggregate amount of the nominal value of the ordinary and second preference shares issued by the company. The notice convening the meeting, containing the ordinary and special resolutions to be proposed at this meeting, was circulated to shareholders and published on the company's website on 31st March 2021. The annual financial statements, the Director's report, the Audit Committee report and the group social and ethics report were also published on the company's website on 31st March 2021. Accordingly, I will take the notice and all these reports as read. As envisaged in Section 63(4) of the Companies Act, a poll will be taken on all resolutions set out in the notice. The company has appointed Deloitte Inc. to act as scrutineer for the purpose of this meeting. As already explained by the Computershare representative, the poll will be taken using the Lumi platform, which is accessible on the app using the website link posted on the Standard Bank Group website or the Smart AGM Portal. Shareholders or their proxies are invited to vote on resolutions at any time during the meeting. I will also allow time at the end of the meeting for shareholders or their proxies to finalize any outstanding votes. The full text of the resolutions is set out in the notice. All the resolutions will be taken as read. Therefore, I will not read out any of the resolutions. I will propose the resolutions, except for Resolution 1, which relates to the appointment of directors. Given that I am in the number of directors being proposed for reelection, Trix Kennealy, the group's Lead Independent Director, will propose the resolution pertaining to the reelection of directors. Submission of the annual financial statements and the report of the Social and Ethics Committee. The following items do not require formal resolutions. They are being presented to shareholders in line with requirements of the Companies Act. The Standard Bank Group's annual financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020. The full audited annual statements for the group, including the Director's report and the report of the Group Audit Committee, are contained in the annual financial statements 2020 booklet available on the group's website. The report of the group's Social and Ethics Committee for the year ended 31 December 2020. This report is included in the 2020 governance and remuneration report on Pages 36 and 37 and is also available on the Standard Bank Group's website. Are there questions on the webcast that shareholders have raised in connection with the annual financial statements as well as the social and ethics report?

No questions have been raised, Chairman.

I will now proceed to the resolutions. For an ordinary resolution to be approved by the shareholders, it must be supported by more than 50% of the voting rights exercised on the resolution. Questions relating to resolutions will be addressed after each resolution has been proposed. I propose that the following ordinary resolutions be considered for adoption. I will now hand over to Trix Kennealy to propose Ordinary Resolution #1.

In considering ordinary resolutions 1.1 to 1.7, please refer to the governance and remuneration report. Thulani Gcabashe, Kgomotso Moroka, Atedo Peterside, Myles Ruck and Lubin Wang retired as directors by rotation in accordance with Clause 7.1 of the company's Memorandum of Incorporation and, being eligible, offer themselves for reelection. Paul Cook and Xueqing Guan, who were appointed to the Board since the last AGM, retire as directors and, being eligible, offer themselves for election. In determining to present these directors to shareholders for reappointment, the Board has considered its overall composition and evaluated each nonexecutive director, taking into account their skills, expertise, knowledge, performance, independent judgment and contribution to the Board deliberations and the group, and recommends that the above-mentioned directors be reelected by shareholders. Myles Ruck, Kgomotso Moroka and Thulani Gcabashe have all served on the Board for periods longer than 9 years. Regarding [ heir ] to the SARB Prudential Authority exemption and following a rigorous annual review, including the independent external assessment confirmation, the Board concluded that Thulani Gcabashe and Myles Ruck continue to be independent in character, demonstrated behavior, contribution to Board deliberations and judgment, notwithstanding their tenure. Kgomotso Moroka continues to be classified as a nonexecutive director, and the majority of our nonexecutive directors are independent. Abridged curriculum vitae of all directors standing for reelection are included in the notice on Pages 4 and 5. Having attained retirement age, André Parker will retire at the conclusion of this meeting. On behalf of the members of the Board, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to André for his contribution over the past 7 years and wish him everything of the best in his retirement. Are there questions on the webcast that shareholders have raised in connection with the proposed ordinary resolution?

No questions have been raised in respect of the directors being reelected.

If there are no questions, shareholders or their proxies should indicate their votes in respect of resolutions 1.1 to 1.7 to approve the reelection of Paul Cook, Thulani Gcabashe, Xueqing Guan, Kgomotso Moroka, Atedo Peterside, Myles Ruck and Lubin Wang as directors of the company. And for each director being reappointed, the voting is done via a separate poll on the voting platform. 1.1. Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 1.1 to approve the appointment of Paul Cook as Director of the company. 1.2. Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 1.2 to approve the reappointment of Thulani Gcabashe as a Director of the company. 1.3. Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 1.3 to appoint Xueqing Guan as a Director of the company. 1.4. Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 1.4 to approve the reappointment of Kgomotso Moroka as a Director of the company. 1.5. Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 1.5 to approve the reappointment of Atedo Peterside as a Director of the company. 1.6. Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 1.6 to approve the reappointment of Myles Ruck as a Director of the company. 1.7. Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 1.7 to approve the reappointment of Lubin Wang as a Director of the company. I'm handing back to Mr. Gcabashe.

Thank you, Trix. Let me add my own word of appreciation to André Parker for his services to the Board. Reappointment of external auditors, ordinary resolution. The next resolution relates to the reappointment of the external auditors of the company. The Audit Committee has evaluated the independence and performance of KPMG Inc., that's under Resolution 2.1, and PwC Inc. under Resolution 2.2, and has recommended the reappointment as joint auditors of the company. Are there questions on the webcast that shareholders have raised in connection with the proposed ordinary resolution?

There are no questions that relate to external auditors, Chairman.

Shareholders or their proxies should indicate their votes in respect of Resolutions 2.1 and 2.2 to approve the reappointment of KPMG Inc. and PwC Inc. as joint auditors of the company for the year ending 31 December 2021. For each auditory appointment, the voting is done via a separate poll on the voting platform. 2.1. Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their votes in respect of Resolution 2.1 to approve the reappointment of KPMG Inc. as auditors of the company for the year ending 31st December 2021. 2.2. Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 2.2 to approve the reappointment of PwC Inc. as auditors of the company for the year ending 31st December 2021. Placing of the authorized but unissued ordinary shares under the control of the directors, ordinary resolution. The next resolution being proposed is to renew the authority to place the unissued ordinary shares of the company under the control of the directors who are authorized to issue the ordinary shares at their discretion until the next AGM of the company, subject to the aggregate amount of shares able to be issued being limited to 2.5% of the number of ordinary shares in issue as at 31st December 2020, provided that the aforementioned limitation shall not apply to any issue of ordinary shares for acquisition of assets or where the ordinary shares are issued pro rata to the shareholders' existing shareholding. The exact wording of the resolution is set out in the Resolution 3 of the notice. We will now turn to questions on the webcast that shareholders have raised in connection with the proposed ordinary resolution.

There are no questions that have come through in relation to the placing of shares under the control of the Board, Chairman.

Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 3. 4. The placing of the authority -- I beg your pardon, placing the authorized but unissued nonredeemable preference shares under the control of the directors, so ordinary resolution. The following resolution provides the directors with the ability to allot and issue nonredeemable, noncumulative, nonparticipating, variable rate par value shares -- preference shares. The resolution places the said shares under the control of the directors who are authorized to issue the preference shares at their discretion until the next AGM of the company and is subject to the aggregate number of preference shares being able to be issued in terms of this resolution being limited to 2.5% of the number of preference shares in issue as of December 31, 2020. The exact wording of the resolution is set out in the Resolution 4 of the notice. Are there questions on the webcast that shareholders have raised in connection with the proposed ordinary resolution?

There are no questions relating to this resolution, Chairman.

Shareholders or their proxies should now please indicate their vote in respect of Resolution 4. 5. Nonbinding advisory vote on the remuneration policy and remuneration implementation report, ordinary resolution. In considering ordinary Resolution 5.1 in relation to Standard Bank Group's remuneration policy and Resolution 5.2 in relation to the Standard Bank Group's remuneration implementation report, please refer to the Governance and Remuneration Report 2020. Shareholders are requested to endorse by way of separate nonbinding advisory votes, as recommended by King IV report on corporate governance and JSE listing requirements, the company's remuneration policy and remuneration implementation report as set out on Pages 57 and 70, respectively, of the company's governance and remuneration report available on the group's website. Are there questions on the webcast that shareholders have raised in connection with the proposed ordinary resolution?

There are no questions relating to either the remuneration policy or the remuneration implementation report that have come through, Chairman.

Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their votes in respect of Resolution 5.1 and 5.2 to approve the company's remuneration policy and remuneration implementation report, respectively. The voting is done via a separate poll on the voting platform. Special resolutions. For a special resolution to be approved by the shareholders, it must be supported by 75% of the voting rights exercised on that resolution. I propose that the following special resolutions be considered for adoption. 6. General authority to acquire the company's ordinary shares, special resolution. The directors of the company intend, if the circumstances are appropriate, to implement a repurchase of the company's ordinary shares as permitted in terms of the Companies Act, the Banks Act and the listings requirements either by the company or one of its subsidiaries. The purpose of the special resolution is to generally approve, in terms of the provisions of the Companies Act, the acquisition by the company and/or a subsidiary of the company of ordinary shares issued by it, subject to the listing requirements. The exact wording of the special resolution is set out in Special Resolution 6 of the notice to members. We will now turn to questions on the webcast that shareholders have raised in connection with the proposed special resolution.

There are no questions that have been raised relating to this resolution, Chairman.

Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their votes in respect of Special Resolution 6. 7. General authority to acquire the company's preference shares, special resolution. The directors of the company intend, if the circumstances are appropriate, to implement repurchases of the company's nonredeemable, noncumulative, nonparticipating, variable rate par value preference shares as permitted in terms of the Companies Act, the Banks Act and the listing requirements by the company by means of general repurchases as defined in the listing requirements. The purpose of this special resolution is to generally approve, in terms of the provisions of the Companies Act, the acquisition by the company of preference shares, subject to the listing requirements. The exact wording of the special resolution is set out in Special Resolution 7 of the notice to members. We will now turn to questions on the webcast that shareholders have raised in connection with the proposed special resolution.

There are no questions that have been raised relating to Resolution #7, Chairman.

Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Special Resolution #7. 8. Loans or other financial assistance to related or interrelated companies, special resolution. Companies within the group receive and provide loan financing and other support to each other in the course of business. The reason for this special resolution is to grant the directors of the company the authority to provide financial assistance to any company or corporation which is related or interrelated to the company. In terms of the Companies Act, any company which provides financial assistance to any company or corporation which is related or interrelated to the company is required to be authorized to do so in terms of special resolution on the terms and conditions which the directors of the company may determine. Special Resolution #8, as set out in the notice, provides the company with this authority. The exact wording of the special resolution is set out in Special Resolution 8 of the notice to members. We'll now turn to the questions on the webcast that shareholders have raised in connection with the proposed special resolution.

No questions have been received relating to Resolution #8, Chairman.

Shareholders or their proxies should now indicate their vote in respect of Special Resolution 8. 9. Nonexecutive directors' fees. The Board has resolved to propose an increase to -- I beg your pardon. The Board has resolved not to propose an increase to the nonexecutive directors' fees for 2021 financial year. Accordingly, the 2021 nonexecutive directors' fees will be paid in accordance with the last shareholder approval -- approved fees at the company's 2020 AGM as envisaged in Section 66(9) of the Companies Act. Shareholders or their proxies who have not yet cast their votes for the aforementioned resolutions should now do so. You have a few minutes to complete your voting. [Voting]

Chairman, there is a question that has come through the screen after the fact in relation to Resolution #8. [ Tabo Hobakaba ] has asked that we please expand more on Resolution #8, what form will this financial assistance take?

Can I ask Sim to answer that?

You ask the Chief Financial Officer.

Arno, will you please do that?

Good morning all. With respect to the loans or other financial assistance related to intercompany assistance, that typically would be arm's length funding to some of our subsidiaries. These are managed within applicable risk appetite for these entities.

I declare that the votes are now closed. We now move to general questions. We will now address the general questions submitted to the Group Company Secretary in writing in advance by shareholders. Over to you, Zola.

Thank you, Chairman.

We received questions submitted by Ilham Rawoot, and he writes as follows: Thank you for the opportunity to submit questions in advance. My name is Ilham Rawoot, and I'm asking questions on behalf of an organization called Justiça Ambiental, Friends of the Earth Mozambique. The questions are regarding Standard Bank's investment in the Mozambique liquid natural gas project. JA! is an organization that works within and with communities who are affected by or live within the Afungi LNG park. Some of these questions are quite lengthy. Out of necessity for context, as you will see, hence, they are written and submitted in advance. Question one, regarding jobs created for communities in the Afungi LNG park and the offshore operations and construction. We are away from working within the communities directly affected by and within the Afungi park, that the only jobs created for them have been menial, cooks, [ skinners ] and construction workers. Considering that Standard Bank insists that the people of Mozambique will benefit from this project, how many jobs have been created for the people of Cabo Delgaro thus far in this project? How many of these jobs are skilled? How often does Standard Bank monitor the employment situation on the ground? Does Standard Bank's agreement with Mozambique LNG include requirements that Mozambique LNG provide jobs for the local communities?

Thank you for that question. I will ask Sim to deal with that.

Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, sir. From July 2019 to December 2020, we estimate that between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs were created, mostly in the site preworks and the airport and in the resettlement village. The number of employment opportunities has risen and that risen at the time to 5,000 by December 2020. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, employment unfortunately dropped to 1,200 and then fell to 0 as from to April 2021. Pursuant to the violent attack on Palma on 24 March 2021 and the project being obliged to be declared a force majeure, these employment programs were and remain the responsibility of the borrower, Mozambique LNG. As one of a number of lenders to Mozambique LNG, Standard Bank closely reviews all reports and covenants provided by the borrower. These are also monitored by the lender's adviser. The independent environmental and social consultants are due to carry out their first construction monitoring in 2020. But this was repeatedly postponed as a result of the COVID-2019 pandemic, the travel restrictions and the travel risks associated therewith. Following the delays caused by the attacks, the independent environment and social consultants were due to undertake their first review of the construction phase during the week of May 10. However, we have since learned that Mozambique LNG has requested a further postponement given that there are currently no project staff on the ground and that no activities are underway at the moment. The lenders, including Standard Bank, are expecting an environmental and social report for 2021 from the project in July or August. The independent environmental and social consultants are hoping to undertake their review following the distribution of this report and are intending to conduct a site visit before the end of the third quarter of this year to the situation at the site permit. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Any further questions?

There's a question to -- there are several questions, Chairman, so I'll read one. Question two reads as follows: Regarding climate impacts, Standard Bank considers itself a leader in complying with the Paris Agreement. However, according to Chapter 12 of the EIA by Impacto/ERM for Mozambique LNG, it is evident that by 2022, the first year of full operations of the LNG facility, GHG emissions from the project could account for nearly 10% of Mozambique's national GHG emissions. And that's quoted from Page 18 of the said report. Given growth in national emissions over time, by 2028, the project could account for around 6% of national GHG emissions. The project is estimated to emit approximately 13 million tonnes of CO2 per year during the operation of 6 LNG trains. The project GHG emissions will increase the level of Mozambique's GHG emissions by 9.4% when 6 LNG trains are projected to be operational in 2022. The duration of the impact is regarded as permanent as science has indicated that the persistence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is set to range between 100 and 500 years and therefore continues beyond the life of the project. In light of the above, the significance of the impact of GHG emissions from the project on Mozambique's national GHG emissions can be considered major. And according to the EIA nontechnical summary, given the scale and nature of the project, while good practice can be employed to reduce the GHG emissions, the overall significance of the impact is not expected to significantly change post mitigation. Assuming that Standard Bank has read the 2014 EIA before it agreed to finance the project, why has it gone ahead with financing this project when it was well aware of this climate impact? Did Standard Bank do its own due diligence on climate impacts? Or did it base the climate impacts on -- of its investment on an EIA created by the project operator? Please, will you share this assessment with us. Please note, for the purpose of this response, that we are aware Standard Bank believes gas is a transition fuel. We do not. Hence, it would be most productive to exclude this from your answer.

Sim?

Thank you, Chairman. Lenders to this project, including Standard Bank, have ensured that the project complies with good international industry practice, including the Equator Principles and the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards. At the time of the lender due diligence of this project, the Equator Principles and International Finance Corporation Performance Standards only required quantification of the GHG emissions, not their minimization. The lenders, nevertheless, ensured that the project design included technology to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, such as zero routine flaring. In our view, the role of gas as a transition fuel was definitely a consideration in the lending decision and, therefore, cannot usefully be excluded from our responses to this question. From our perspective, the Mozambique LNG project is crucial to promote coal-to-gas switching in power generation. It is well-known that gas-fired power generates less than half, around 45% of the carbon dioxide emissions of coal-fired power generation. Due diligence carried out by the third-party consultants showed net carbon dioxide savings resulting from the project compared to coal-fired alternatives. Thank you.

Zola?

Question three. In the 2020 Annual General Meeting, our organization, JA!, asked Standard Bank why it is financing a project in which 550 families had already been forcefully relocated. This was regarding the Coral FLNG and the questions apply equally to Mozambique LNG. The response from Mr. Kenny Fihla was, "I visited Mozambique towards the end of last year, spent 3 days meeting with various stakeholders across government, the IMF and some interest groups, the companies and various participants in the 2 ventures in Area 1 and Area 4." Standard Bank says it has consulted with government and industry and has based its so-called satisfaction on these meetings. Did Standard Bank consult with any community-based NGOs or other people actually being affected? Or is it taking industry on its own [ wedge ] that it is acting decently? Has Standard Bank done any due diligence for its investment in Mozambique LNG by itself or through a consulting firm? If so, Standard Bank will have seen that the fishing and farming families who were relocated have been moved far from the sea and received very little pieces of land and lost their livelihood. Why then did Standard Bank go ahead with the financing? Please, could Standard Bank share its due diligence report with us?

Sim?

Thank you, Chairman. In our view, different sets of questions applied to the Coral floating LNG project and the Mozambique LNG project. Coral FNLG is an offshore project and does not require resettlement. Mozambique LNG has a resettlement action plan, a livelihood restoration plan and a vulnerable persons plan. These were reviewed by the lender's adviser, and the implementation is monitored by the lender's adviser. As part of financing due diligence, a great deal of environmental and social impact assessment activity was undertaken, including a major focus on [ Quintada ], the resettlement village, in accordance with the Equator Principles and other relevant standards. As is usual in project finance, the lenders paid particular attention to this aspect of the project, and the review and monitoring were undertaken by the lender's adviser. The project has engaged in civil society organization consortium to provide biannual environmental and social monitoring. A lead civil society organization will act as a convener, and there are 2 phases of monitoring: the initial phase focused on development of a framework and capacity building; and second, a phase that will include the civil society organization monitoring visits. The first part of this plan has been completed, including formally establishing a monitoring process and undertaking capacity building with the civil society organization consortium. Monitoring visits, however, have been delayed due to factors outside the control of the project. Thank you.

Zola?

We move on to the next question received, Chairman. It relates to EACOP. We received a question from Ms. Diana Nabiruma. It reads as follows: My name is Diana, and I come from Uganda. I work with communities whose rights and livelihoods have been impacted by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, a project for which Standard Bank is acting as the financial adviser. I'm attending Standard Bank's Annual General Meeting for the second year running. Last year, Mr. Tshabalala said that the bank was speaking to local communities and that there would be additional steps taken. We still have not seen any sign of the bank conducting communities in any of the 10 districts in Uganda affected by the pipeline. Can the bank detail the steps it is taking to make sure it hears from the people affected by the projects?

Sim?

Thank you very much, Ms. Nabiruma. In the period after the last AGM, Standard Bank, along with its co-advisers on the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline project, retained the services of global associates as an independent lenders, environmental and social consultants. The engagement of experts by lenders is a globally accepted practice intended to ensure independent and transparent review of the project's risks and benefits against lender standards, thereby enabling lenders to make a well-informed and objective decision on whether or how to proceed with projects that are under their consideration. The lender's environmental and social consultant undertook field visits in Uganda in March 2021 and in Tanzania in April 2021. These visits included direct contact with several local communities along the proposed pipeline route. The lender's environmental and social consultant confirmed at the site visit closed meeting the following that, first, resettlement has not commenced for the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline project; second, people who will be impacted by the project continue with their livelihoods as normal; third, grievance mechanisms have been implemented and individuals are informed on how to raise grievances to the project; and fourth, stakeholder engagement by the project is ongoing to ensure communities are kept informed about the project. The lender's environmental and social consultants have received and have reviewed the stakeholders' engagement plan, the grievance mechanisms and settlement action plans to ensure that these align with lender standards, including the Equator Principles and the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards. The lender's environmental and social consultant will review outcomes of the stakeholder engagement plan and grievances registers as part of the ongoing monitoring for future lenders. Standard Bank and its co-advisers intend to join these visits. However, due to the risks created by COVID-19, only a limited team from the lender's environmental and social consultant undertook the site visits. Potential lenders will have the opportunity to carry out site visits and community engagement as part of their due diligence. Further, our business incubator in Uganda is providing local entrepreneurs and businesses with the financial and other marketable skills that would enable them to participate meaningfully in the economic activity that would arise as a result of the construction and operation of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline. Many of our business incubator participants, including those who have already successfully graduated, are drawn from the districts through which the pipeline would pass. Thank you, Chairman.

Thank you, Sim. Any further questions?

That's the end of the questions that we received ahead of the AGM, Chairman. We can turn to the questions that are on the screen.

Please go ahead.

The first question is from [ Alisei Demotelen ]. It reads as follows: Sim Tshabalala, CEO, management has seen it appropriate to increase capital allocation in nonbanking activities as this makes sense in the short term to mitigate the increase in competition. As long-term shareholders with a robust balance sheet, wouldn't there better use of capital beyond digital transformation?

Sim, that's addressed to you.

Thank you, Ms. Demotelen. We see the allocation of capital to nonbanking activities as part of our digitization strategy. Because as we digitize, we are becoming what is called a platform business, which will be offering both financial services as well as ancillary and associated services. Africa is very much included in the global trend towards the digital economy. For instance, African mobile penetration has more than doubled over the past decades. And GSMA, which is the international industry association for mobile phones, phone providers expect that 50% of Africans will have a mobile phone within 5 years. They further predict that by 2025, there will be 475 million mobile Internet users in Africa. One doesn't require a crystal ball to predict that many, if not most, of these people will prefer to access financial services online. We, therefore, need to become a truly digital business and make the necessary investments to do so, and we intend to proceed accordingly. Thank you.

Thank you, Sim. Next question.

The next question is from Alisei again, and it reads as follows: Arno Daehnke, how likely are we to see our credit impairment charges begin to normalize? With the group going back to normal, do you anticipate income growth to outpace costs, getting the group to a positive jaws?

Arno, will you please answer that?

For that question, thank you. We continue to see our portfolios normalize. Our payment holiday portfolios where we have granted capital and interest relief has also come -- have also come on maturity. For the 2021 financial year, we expect a lower credit loss charge than 2021 -- 2020, but still slightly above the group's historic through-the-cycle range of 70 to 100 basis points. We expect further normalization with that range in 2022. With regards to jaws and positive jaws, in the very low interest rate environment we are finding ourselves in, we do have pressure on net interest income as we have lowered our interest rates and given our clients the benefit of lower interest rates. This puts pressure on revenue, and we're also managing our costs to low single digits. So for jaws, we do not expect notably positive jaws for the year of 2021.

Thank you, Arno. Will you read the next question?

The next question is from Leanne Govindsamy. She is from the Centre for Environmental Rights. And the question reads as follows: Mr. Chairman, please specify which thermal coal mining transactions are designated as high risk in terms of your fossil fuel financing policy. Please also indicate whether detailed information on outcomes of post-finance monitoring on high-risk transactions will be made publicly available on your website.

Can I ask Sim to deal with that?

Chairman, the answer to that question was provided in your opening remarks in respect to the announcements that we will make pursuant to our TCFD reporting as of the end of this year. That report will be made available in the first half of 2022. And so the 8 points that you committed to addressed the question asked by the shareholder. Thank you.

Next question.

The next question comes from Ryan Brightwell. It reads as follows: My name is Ryan Brightwell, and I'm attending on behalf of BankTrack. I have 3 questions regarding the East African Crude Oil Pipeline for which Standard Bank is advising the governments of Uganda and Tanzania. Firstly, it was reported in the media that Standard Bank has suspended its role in the EACOP pipeline following several society letter on the pipeline. Pending a report into the environmental and social impacts of the projects, can the bank confirm whether this is the case? And given the extraordinary public interest in this project, can it commit to make the report available to shareholders and the public when it is complete?

Shall we take that one first?

Secondly -- I think let's read the whole question, Chairman. Secondly, and the Chair opened today's meeting by setting out its intention to develop its climate plan in alignment with the Paris Agreement. This is welcome. Would the bank commit -- will the bank commit not to proceed with large project finance transactions for new oil and gas projects such as the EACOP until after this climate plan is published? Finally, as of this morning, human rights defender, Maxwell Atuhura of the Africa Institute for Energy Governance, remains in detention in Uganda. Having been arrested this week together with an Italian journalist in the course of his work investigating the impacts of the oil industry on local communities, the police asked him, "Why he was working against Total with foreigners?" The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights and the environment has called for his release. Standard Bank is, of course, working with the Ugandan government as the adviser to the EACOP pipeline. Will the bank urgently contact its clients in the Ugandan government to express its consent and call for Maxwell's immediate release?

Sim?

Chairman, the EACOP sponsors, which are Total, CNOOC and the government of Uganda and Tanzania, have committed to undertake all E&S activities in strict compliance with all local laws and regulations, IFC Performance Standards, World Bank EHS Guidelines as well as the Equator Principles. Standard Bank is an Equator Principle signatory, and all our work on project advisory to date has been conducted in compliance with and in alignment with our fossil fuels policy and E&S policy as well as our commitments under the Equator Principles. The project sponsors, in consultation with the project financial advisers, as indicated, and the potential lenders appointed Golder Associates in the fourth quarter of 2020 as the lender's environmental and social consultant. This LESC will act on behalf of the lenders in reviewing the project environmental, social plans and reports and findings and will evaluate the effectiveness of the project's ESG mitigation plans. The LESC issued its preliminary report from 31 March 2021 with no red flags noted based on the information provided to date. However, the climate change impact assessment for the project is yet to be completed for review by LESC. Site visits to both Uganda and Tanzania have been completed, and the LESC expects to issue its final report in May 2021. The LESC met with the project affected people and confirmed, as we have said, that there has been adequate pre-project stakeholder engagement and that the grievance mechanisms are in place. In addition to LESC, SBG recently appointed its own E&S adviser to assist us with objectively reviewing compliance with the said principles and policies prior to us lending to the project. We have separately commissioned an independent macroeconomic study in respect of this project. The macroeconomic study's methodology is underpinned by the cost/benefit analysis, macroeconomic impact analysis that is intended to ascertain the financial and economic viability of the upstream and EACOP project. As and when information is available, the study will also examine the upstream EACOP carbon emissions in the context of concerns raised about the project's impact on climate change. We further note that the sponsors are currently undertaking a project climate change impact assessment that will be reviewed by both the LESC and SBG and E&S adviser. Insofar as human rights are concerned, we subscribe to all global norms in respect of people's rights, and we will continue to advocate for adherence to basic principles of human rights, the rule of law and the respect of people's individual rights. Thank you, Chairman.

Thank you, Sim. Next question.

The next question, Chairman, comes from Leanne Govindsamy again from the Centre for Environmental Rights. It reads as follows: We understand that Standard Bank is one of the funders of New Largo coal, so it is New Largo subsidiary, which will operate as a new coal mine. Pending the coal to be mined at New Largo will generate massive GHG emissions and directly contribute to climate change, this will also cause significant air pollution in the high-priority area and use massive amounts of already [ discussed ] water. Given the climate crisis and the new report from the International Energy Agency that says that there is "no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply," in a 1.5-C scenario, what is your response to the following: how does Standard Bank justify the continued financing of this project? Number two, assuming that this project is designated as high risk, has it undergone enhanced due diligence in terms of your fossil fuel's financing policy? Number three, what has been the outcome of post-finance monitoring, which in terms of such policy is done on an ongoing basis?

Chairman, may I propose that Mr. Fihla address this specific question? Kenny?

Chairman, if I may, I hope I'm audible.

You're not visible, but...

Oh, that's great. My camera is on. Maybe in the interest of time, if I could proceed here because the camera is supposed to be on. That -- I mean we have a coal binding policy, which we adopted a couple of years ago, which we follow strictly when deciding whether to finance coal mines or not. And we also have a relationship with Seriti that has been going for quite a couple of years up until now. With regard to New Largo, in particular, there are a number of considerations that at the moment we are looking at. I think the first is that the coal that is supplied to Dover is, I mean, traveling tens of kilometers to bring coal to that particular mine when New Largo is adjacent to the mine and the coal could easily be conveyed into the sort of boilers and the furnaces using a conveyor belt. And in our view, it is actually more environmentally sustainable and, quite frankly, less damaging, even though there'll still be damage, of course, given that it will still be coal to run there and power that coal-fired power station using coal from New Largo as opposed to coal that is being tracked from hundreds of kilometers away. And we think, on balance, it is actually far more beneficial to do that. I will stop there, Chairman.

Zola?

The next question, Chairman, comes from [ Melody Chironga ], and it reads as follows: Good morning, Chair. My name is Melody Chironga from Just Share. While it is encouraging that the Remco has accepted that the March 2019 long-term incentive plan, that is the performance reward plan, is unlikely to vest due to COVID-19 impacts. Remco has nevertheless chosen to exercise its discretion in the best interest of the group and has adjusted the previously set performance conditions of the March 2020 performance reward plan. In terms of that adjustment, vesting under plan will be at the sole discretion of the Remco. How long will this discretion prevail or in what circumstances will the situation reverts to pre-2020 policy?

I will ask the Chairman of Remco to answer that.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to Ms. Chironga. The 2020 discretion -- further discretion will last for the tenure of the award, which is ending in 2023. And as pre-2020 exact [indiscernible]. If you look at the Remco report in 2021, it's a partial reversion to a pre-2020 policy in that 60% of the award will be based on financial outcomes and 40% of the reward will be based on nonfinancial outcomes.

Next question.

Good morning. My name is Emma Schuster from Just Share. Standard Bank has indicated that it is committed to continuing to fund the development of new oil and gas in Africa. This is evident from the bank's fossil fuel financing policies, TCFD report and statements on your website, such as oil and gas will continue to play a pivotal role in the South African energy matrix, with the government pushing for the growth of the gas economy. You will be aware that the International Energy Agency, last week, released its first-ever energy scenario aligned with the [ agent ] goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This scenario holds that there is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply. And more specifically, that beyond projects already committed as of 2021, there are no new oil and gas fields approved for development in this pathway, and no new coal mines or mine extensions are required. How will this new scenario impact Standard Bank's plans to finance new oil and gas in Africa?

Sim, would you answer that?

Chairman, I'll ask Mr. Hodnett and Mr. Fihla to follow up on my answer. But the general proposition is that we believe that we should firstly follow the science. Second, we understand the economics of the decisions to be taken in this context, definitely committing ourselves, as we have to the Paris Agreement pathways, particularly having regard to a just transition given where Africa finds itself in the global processes and principles applicable to climate change. But perhaps Mr. Hodnett or Mr. Fihla could fill in, starting with Mr. Hodnett. David?

Thanks, Sim. I think all I'd add to your comment is, clearly, what we've stated is the complexity of operating across a number of countries in the continent, and the specific requirements of those countries must be taken into account. So we are aware of this report. But in our commitments that the Chair made earlier, clearly, we are looking specifically at the requirements in individual countries and their trajectory. Thanks, Chair.

Zola?

And the next question then, Chairman, comes from Greer Blizzard. It reads as follows: Good morning, Chair. My name is Greer Blizzard from Just Share. Standard Bank's Board recognizes the systemic risk that climate change poses and asserts that it is committed to sustainable development. However, despite having a large Board, Standard Bank's Board members do not have a broad range of experience and expertise in climate risk and other sustainability-related matters. Does the bank have a strategy in place to appoint Board members with the qualification, skills and experience required to ensure that the bank is well positioned to execute its commitments on sustainable development?

Thank you for that question. I can respond in the affirmative, but add that at all times, we review the balance of skills on the Board. And at this point, we do recognize that we need to add more skills who are competent in the general area of ESG and will be doing so in due course.

The next question comes from Melody Chironga, and it reads as follows: Standard Bank refers in its 2020 annual integrated report to its promotion of gender and diversity policy and to a transformation policy in its 2020 transformation report. These 2 policies are, however, not publicly available, and we have been advised by the bank that they are internal documents and cannot be shared. However, many listed companies make these policies publicly available on their websites. Will Standard Bank commit to doing so or explain why these policies cannot be seen by shareholders?

Sim?

Thank you, Chairman. Our targets and our progress against those targets, which speak the essence of our policies on both transformation in South Africa and gender and diversity in our entire organization are published in our annual integrated report, in our report to society and in our South African transformation report. Thank you, Chairman.

Next question.

The next question comes from [ Charity Mingue ], and it reads as follows: Standard Bank's fossil fuel policy sets out that it will provide finance to energy companies that commit to minimize and reduce carbon emissions. Can the bank provide some detail on how exactly it determines whether an oil major is minimizing and reducing carbon emissions? Is it not contradictory for the bank to be considering financing new fossil fuel infrastructure projects while it asks its fossil fuel industry clients to reduce carbon emissions?

Sim?

Chairman, I believe that this has been answered, and it's also contained in our annual integrated report and in our ESG report. But perhaps, for more detail and more color, we could ask Mr. Fihla to expand.

Chairman, I hope the video is better now. I've taken off the background, and hopefully, I'm more visible now. I think this is a very important question, Chair, indeed. I mean we do look at the individual projects and clients quite seriously. And all of that is guided by our policy as well as all the standards that have already been outlined to a very sort of deep level of detail. At the moment, as we speak, we have 3 categories of sort of fossil fuels, and we view them with varying degree of severity. Coal, far more stringent naturally, given where it is. Coal-fired power stations, even more stricter with regard to new ones, and it's unlikely that we will fund a new coal-fired power station unless it is a supercritical energy and there are no alternative sources. We have already spoken about the processes that were followed with regard to oil levels, that a very, very detailed set of process that has been undertaken in Uganda. And we've already answered as well the questions related to Mozambique and all the steps that we've put in place and the consideration that we are taking into account. All of that balancing act, including the direction of travel, will be articulated fairly clearly when we publish our targets as well as the journey that we'll embark upon to be able to achieve those targets. So I will request that we'll be given a chance to finalize those. And when we do, then publish the numbers and our technical goals, we can have a detailed conversation on these matters.

Thank you, Kenny. Next question.

The next question comes from [ Julius Owiti ]. It reads as follows: As one of the largest regional banks with total assets of over USD 182 billion, Standard Bank's actions will influence whether or not a just transition to a low-carbon economy is achieved for the communities and the countries within which it operates. And truly just transition will result in positive social and community impacts. I would like to know what school of thought influenced Standard Bank's decision to consider investing in a project that totally goes against Africa's chance to realize a just transition. The proposed East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline will run from Uganda's Hoima to Tanzania's Tanga port, impacting thousands, if not millions, of communities along its 1,442-kilometer length in the East African region. And all evidence demonstrates any positive impact it may have will be completely overshadowed by its severe impacts on human rights and the environment.

Sim, would you comment on that?

Yes, yes. So I think, Mr. Owiti, we completely respect the propositions made in your argument. We would say that there are detailed investigations being undertaken, as I've said, by the independent lender's environmental and social consultants to evaluate all the potential risks and impacts of this project. This investigation includes assessing whether the approaches taken by the project are in line with international standards, in this case, to repeat, the IFC Performance Standards and the various other global standards. Whilst the detailed due diligence assessment is currently underway, the planning process that has been undertaken so far and those that are planned to be implemented to address displacements are in line with international standards, including world best practice on the respect of human rights. While the detailed due diligence assessment is currently underway and is specifically evaluating the biodiversity and conservation-related issues, the bulk of the pipeline route occurs on modified lands. A considerable amount of work has been done in routing the pipeline to avoid sensitive biodiversity areas. Further studies are being undertaken to map and identify critical habitat and species to then reconsider the route and to identify additional measures to avoid or reduce the impact where necessary. From an economic perspective, the project is the largest private sector-led investment in East Africa's history and is sponsored by top-tier, experienced international companies which are all core Standard Bank clients. Significant growth will benefit the communities, and the opportunity to become a leading bank to the government of Uganda and to become a leading bank on the continent is important in terms of the strategy of the group. Our submission, and based on the evidence provided by the sponsors, is that there will be significant economic benefits, which are relevant in the consideration of the environmental, the social and the governance obligations that the Standard Bank has in this context. Thank you, Chairman.

Thank you, Sim. Next question.

The next question comes from Ms. Diana Nabiruma again, Chairman, and it reads as follows: Good morning, Chair. My name is Diana, and my organization works with communities in Uganda whose land is being acquired for oil projects such as East African Crude Oil Pipeline, which Standard Bank is an adviser for. My organization's core work is to ensure that the land and environment rights of oil-affected communities are respected. Unfortunately, our work has been criminalized. And on Tuesday this week, our colleague, Maxwell Atuhura, was detained, who was working with an Italian journalist to document the human rights abuses against his community members who have been affected by the EACOP and Tilenga projects. And the space in which civil society organizations in Uganda operate is very restricted. We face arrest, intimidation or refusals to meet with communities, threats, closure of offices, freezing of bank accounts and others. We would like to know, why is Standard Bank advising on projects under which human rights have been abused?

Sim?

Chairman, we would continue to underline the importance of the respect for the rule of law and the rights of people to freedom of expression, freedom of association and their rights to protect the -- both their first, second and third generation rights. We are [ at even ] with the colleagues who are commenting on the protection of people rights and will do the right thing. Thank you, Chairman.

Next comment or question.

Next on the screen, Chairman, is a comment, I think, from Ilham Rawoot. Thank you for your response. Please note that Coral FLNG will be utilizing the support facilities of the Afungi LNG park built by Total even though they are offshore. This is clear in Coral's own EIA. Thank you. And again, he writes as follows: In 2019 -- I don't know if there are words before this, but it reads -- it looks like this on the screen: In 2019, members of our organization, Friends of the Earth Mozambique, traveled from Maputo to Johannesburg at great expense for a content meeting with Ms. Wendy Dobson and Mr. Nigel Beck, who was the Head of Risk at the time, regarding Standard Bank's investment in Coral FLNG. Standard Bank called to cancel the meeting 2 hours before. When we insisted on the meeting, neither Ms. Dobson nor Mr. Beck attended, but rather 2 of their colleagues below management level who took down our questions. Mr. Beck then refused to answer our questions in an e-mail, telling us to refer to Standard Bank's ESG documents. In further correspondence, Mr. Beck refused to meet with us again. This is not acceptable. Can Standard Bank and, in particular, Mr. Sim Tshabalala and Ms. Wendy Dobson undertake to hold an in-person or online meeting with our organization before the end of June 2021?

Sim?

Chairman, as we have previously said and as you said when you opened your meeting, we have an open-door policy to engaging with stakeholders. We have thousands of shareholders, thousands of stakeholders and millions of customers. We cannot make a public undertaking to each -- to meet each and every one of them because it would be infeasible to do so. But we make sure that we are [ fair minds ] as to the feasibility of meeting specific stakeholders and specific shareholders and specific customers. And under the right circumstances, we will meet people on the basis that we have an open-door policy. So I would respectfully decline to agree to meet specific people in a public platform because it's just not feasible. But we'll make sure that the appropriate people meet the stakeholder group, with emphasis on the appropriate people. Thank you.

Thank you. Chairman, [ Anthony Walker ] has submitted a comment or question. I see my comments have been removed, so I will rephrase as a question. Given asset managers seem to have access to the AGM -- sorry, given asset managers seem to have been given access to the AGM late last night, can we have an undertaking that this is, one, will be resolved with the provider Computershare; and two, request them to do an audit of shareholders who might not have received confirmation or access in time and if any of this intended to vote at the AGM and are now unable to do so? Given access had to be manual for asset managers, is there not a risk of captured votes? I'm going to ask Computershare, Chairman, to respond to this, although they have written a note. I think Andre or somebody from Computershare should respond.

Andre?

Thank you, Zola, and thank you, Chair. To Mr. Walker, we do apologize that you received your access e-mails late. We do have systems in place to track whether or not access e-mails have been received and whether or not they have been opened or whether or not they have been undelivered. We can ascertain that all access e-mails were sent to the relevant parties. With regards to your ability to vote, you would notice on your information screen that you would have had 0 votes because, as you mentioned, you are a shareholder with nonvoting rights. Had you pressed a button or made a selection, you would have received a pop-up message in your platform stating that you have 0 votes to vote and, hence, would not be able to submit a vote. But I can confirm that we have received all required voting and that all access e-mails have been received and that everybody that required or registered to participate at this AGM have. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Next question from...

Next question, Chairman, is from [ Mehuling Ngube ]. It reads as follows: Remuneration implementation, as much of the bank's performance was affected by the ongoing COVID pandemic, can Remco explain how the cash incentives given to executives was reached as it is contrary to the STI metrics and performance measures indicated in the remuneration policy, where ending of performance metrics normalized for COVID effects?

Trix?

Thank you. So the STI allocation has been linked to headline earnings performance. So the second part of the question about has it been normalized for COVID, I think it happened automatically by linking it to headline earnings performance. And it is definitely linked to performance outcomes as indicated in the implementation report. So there's an alignment. The amount is determined based on headline earnings and then individual performance. It dictates the allocation, and therefore, we'll also see that the chief executives who are part of the Board was totally aligned with group headline earnings performance.

Next question.

Next question is also from Mehuling Ngube, and it reads as follows: COVID response, can Standard Bank ascertain the quantum of COVID relief, if any, given to its customers and any future provisions in response to the ongoing pandemic?

Arno, would you respond to that?

For this, Chair, thank you. We provide an extensive client relief in the financial year of 2020 and continue to do so to a slightly moderated pace now. To give you a sense of the client relief, in excess of ZAR 100 billion, client relief, ZAR 100 billion was provided to our consumer client segment, around ZAR 23 billion was provided in client relief in commercial and business client segments and around ZAR 24 billion has been applied to our wholesale clients. This relief was in the form of payment holidays and, in certain instances, also capital repayment holidays. We also provided other relief measures related to insurance, transactional fees charged, various other societal and social investments we've made into the economies in which we operate. In terms of provision going forward, we continue to support our clients as they normalize their businesses and their livelihoods in light of the current environment. And we will make provisions as and when required as we see that evolving in the coming year. Thank you.

Thank you, Arno. Next question.

And the next question is from Ilham Rawoot. It reads as follows: Now that Total claimed [ first mayor ], CEO Pouyanné told President Museveni last week that they will or may not return for 2 years. Total has stopped its compensation payments to community members and will no longer pay its contractors, including small local businesses, which is public knowledge. Is Standard Bank renegotiating its financing contract with Total? And considering Total's failures regarding compensation and contractual obligations, does Standard Bank still believe its financing is a good economic and ethical decision?

Sim, any comment?

Can I ask Kenny, please, to address that, Chairman?

Thank you very much, Sim, and thanks, Chairman, and thanks, Ilham, for the question. Naturally, we will continue to review our involvement in the project of Mozambique and, in particular, our support for Total in the consortium as and when there are substantial changes to the conditions and circumstances. At the moment, we believe that there is no need for us to sort of terminate the involvement. And we are fairly comfortable that our exposure is not at risk, given that a substantial amount of it has not been drawn down. But we'll continue to monitor the situation and engage with the sponsors as appropriate. With regard to other issues that are raised, I mean, on this, I think we've already responded to that in the earlier questions that were posed.

Next question.

Next question comes from Diana, and it reads: Chair, it really isn't true that the higher standards are being maintained for the EACOP project in Uganda. Communities are not allowed to use their land to grow perennial cash and food crops, which have had food security and family incomes. Is it possible for Standard Bank's consultants to engage with CSOs alongside communities and the project developers? This will ensure proper investigations, in my view. Is it also possible to get the report of the consultant that visited communities in March 2021? Thanks, Chair.

Sim?

Again, Kenny, I think, needs to answer the question.

Kenny, will you respond to that?

Chairman, the welcoming of the consultants is an ongoing one. And we are more than happy, as Sim has indicated, to engage and meet with various interested groupings and organizations. And we're more than happy, provided, of course, that the consultants give us permission to do so to share some of the insights and issues that have arisen from those reports. But we cannot, at the moment, I mean, disagree with the reports where they're intended for our own consumption. However, we're more than happy to share what are the key issues that are coming out of those reports.

Next question.

The last 2 questions are both from Ilham Rawoot, and they read as follows: Apologies, Mr. Tshabalala, but there's an organization that has been trying to engage directly with the decision-makers at the bank for years. And as a shareholder, I must request once again that you respectfully undertake to hold a meeting with us, as you should do as per the request of any of your shareholders. He also says, regarding Mozambique LNG, can you promise to share the E&S update report that you will receive in July or August with the public? And please, will you provide the names of the Mozambican organizations you have been working with to monitor the impacts of Mozambique LNG?

Chairman, to Mr. Rawoot, we meet with stakeholders all the time as is appropriate. We have got thousands of stakeholders, we've got thousands of shareholders and we've got millions of customers. And where feasible and with regard to pressures of time and circumstance, we will meet with shareholders. So that's the first answer. The second one is that depending on the contractual obligations that the company has, we can make public documents and commitments that are appropriate in those circumstances. Thanks.

The final question is from Anthony Walker and reads as follows: I see my second request for formal comment from the company has now been removed by Computershare. Please advise. This is a governance matter and requires a response from the company. It goes to the validity of the Annual General Meeting and voting, and the answer seems misleading. Many shareholders received confirmation late last night, and we are unaware if they will be able to attend the meeting. I repeat, for a third time, please, can the company confirm it to request an audit from Computershare on its manual processes, the risks associated with it, et cetera? Thank you, Chair. I think let me address this. So we work with both Computershare and, as the Chairman announced at the beginning of the meeting, that there was a scrutineer that was appointed for this process for this AGM. And therefore, the voting and the voting processes and their proxies and shares that had a right to vote will be allowed to vote, and there will be no double counting. It will be concerned by the scrutineers before we now announce the results of the AGM. We will certainly follow up with Computershare on the processes that were related to the issuing of accreditation to shareholders.

And apologies to Ms. Rawoot.

I [ concede ] to that myself, Chairman.

All right.

Ms. Rawoot, I am abjectly sorry for referring to you as Mister. It was an inappropriate reference, and my sincere apologies.

Thank you. That concludes the questions under the general question-and-answer session.

I confirm that the resolutions have been passed by the requisite majority. As a result of there being more than 25% of the votes exercised against the nonbinding advisory Resolution 5.1, shareholders will, in line with the requirements of King IV, be invited to raise their concerns or recommendations on the remuneration policy. Further details will be announced on SENS in due course. The full set of results will be released on SENS by close of business today. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the business of the Annual General Meeting. Thank you for your attendance and participation. Thank you.