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02.10.2019
On 4th September 2019, OKB unveiled its Sustainable Financing Framework and the second party opinion from Sustainalytics. The Framework reflects OKB’s longstanding commitment to sustainable development and puts OKB at the forefront of sustainable finance in Austria as its first-ever sustainability bond issuer.
Volume EUR 500 mn., due October 2026
On October 1, 2019, OKB successfully issued its inaugural Sustainability Bond with a volume of EUR 500 Mio. The seven-year bond was priced at a spread of around 10bp over the Austrian government curve. The coupon was set at 0% with a re-offer price of 102.658%. The strong participation of institutional investors (Central Banks/Official Institutions, Bank Treasuries and Fund Managers) from over 20 different countries allowed the order book to quickly grow above EUR 1.6bn.
The issue carries an explicit guarantee of the Republic of Austria and is rated Aa1/AA+ by Moody’s and Standard Poor’s respectively. Lead Managers are BNP Paribas, Danske Bank, HSBC Bank and UniCredit Bank.
In order to reach out to SRI investors an extensive roadshow was conducted covering Vienna, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki.
Already in the run-up to the issue, discussions with potential investors have confirmed great interest in sustainable bonds in general and in our "OKB Sustainability Bond" in particular. Above all, institutional investors such as asset managers with a focus on socially responsible investments, insurance companies and banks were particularly interested. The very strong oversubscription has surprised us and we are all the more pleased.
We see that sustainable investments are becoming increasingly important for domestic companies. With this opportunity to raise funds, we set a further focus on green finance for export companies - together with our product Exportinvest Green and the possibilities of our subsidiary, the Austrian Development Bank.
Issue proceeds for the refinancing of social and green projects
The composition of its inaugural sustainable bond is weighted more towards social assets (70%), with the remainder being green (30%). In terms of categories, the debut transaction will finance a range of assets, including access to essential services, renewable energy, affordable basic infrastructure and the promotion of employment creation, with assets distributed around the world. OKB will report annually on its use of proceeds.
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