(Finance) – Banca Popolare di Sondrio successfully completed the placement with institutional investors of a Senior Preferred Green bond loan for a benchmark amount of 500 million euros and a duration of 5 years (with the option of early repayment starting from the fourth year).
The operation, carried out under the “Euro Medium Term Notes Programme” (EMTN) program of five billion euros, was carried out with the aim of financing and/or refinancing Green Projects that comply with what is indicated in the existing Green Bond Framework, replicating what happened in July 2021, on the occasion of the inaugural issue of this type of instrument.
The placement saw considerable participation from around 80 investors with good geographical diversification and with overall requests exceeding 650 million euros. The spread, initially announced as mid-swap +225 basis points, was consequently reduced to the final level of 210 basis points above the 4-year midswap rate.
There fixed coupon is equal to 5.5%, with an issue price of the bond equal to 99.839%.
There settlement date of the transaction is expected to close on September 26, 2023.
The bond, reserved for institutional investors, will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
The bond’s expected ratings are as follows: BB+ (Fitch) / BBB Low (DBRS). Today’s operation responds to the funding needs included in the 2022-25 “Next Step” Business Plan.
“We have kept faith with the commitment made to the market to follow up with a new green issue to the inaugural one in 2021 which, I would like to underline, made it possible to disburse more than 2,300 loans in favor of customer initiatives consistent with a model of sustainable economic development that is attentive to the environment” – he declared Mario Alberto Pedranzini, Managing Director and General Manager of Banca Popolare of Sondrio –. “This new operation will also act as a virtuous catalyst, directing financial flows in favor of Green projects, for which we will provide timely reporting to investors and stakeholders, who are rightly increasingly attentive not only to the economic success of the bank, but also to respect for the principles of sustainability” .