• Yesterday #OccupyStandardBank protestors stationed themselves at the financial institution’s Johannesburg headquarters in Rosebank.
• Following their forcible removal from the premises, graffiti was spotted on the Be Kind sign outside the main building.
• Clean up efforts are already underway and any traces of the graffiti are all but gone.

Standard Bank has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late, with the financial institution coming under fire for its alleged involvement in funding fossil fuel-related projects. It is said to be the only South African bank to be doing so, which is why #OccupyStandardBank protests took place at the company’s Johannesburg headquarters in Rosebank yesterday.

The protestors, from Extinction Rebellion, were forcibly removed from the premises as reported by the Daily Maverick, as their calls for Standard Bank to redirect their investment efforts towards renewable energies are seemingly yet to be heard.

This is not the first time that protests have happened at the building, with a group forcibly removed earlier in the year too.

These latest protests are a little different, however, as evidence of the event could be seen at the Oxford and Glenhove intersection in Rosebank. This as the BE KIND sign situated outside the Rosebank offices was vandalised with graffiti.

We spotted the graffiti during our morning commute into the office, with several cleaners rushing furiously to clean off the tags written in some sort of black paint.

By the time we snapped pictures of the efforts, not much could be made out, but we did see the words Standard Bank written a handful of times on the sign. The black streaks from the cleaning efforts could also be seen, but by this afternoon any signs of graffiti should be all but gone.

We should also point out, that it is not clear who is responsible for the graffiti, as no party has come forward to claim responsibility at the time of writing.

That said, given that the graffiti was cleaned up rather quickly, it would not surprise us if another attempt to deface the sign is made in the coming days.

Should someone or a group of people attempt to do so, it looks like Standard Bank is heightening its security efforts at the moment. A cursory check of the Rosebank office block saw a higher number of security stationed around the building than usual, although we did not see any other signs of vandalism.

Either way, protests against Standard Bank are still in the offing, especially as questions regarding the company’s alleged investment in fossil fuels have not been officially addressed.

That said, the financial institution is still acutely aware of the issues plaguing South Africans, and like other banks in the country, have launched solutions and financing options when it comes to home solar.

With the country’s electricity grid still highly dependent upon fossil fuel, and coal in particular, it is unlikely that protestors will gain much support from everyday South Africans struggling with an ongoing energy crisis.