AIB has raised €750 million through the issuance of its fourth green bond, bringing the total raised from environmental bonds to more than €3 billion to date.
The proceeds of the bond will fund the financing of projects with environmental benefits supporting customers to make the transition to a low carbon future.
The bank said investor interest in the bond peaked just below €1.5 billion, allowing the bank to issue the bond at a level of MidSwaps +2.85 per cent, equating to a coupon of 5.75 per cent. The final order book was €1.4 billion, with 94 investors from 22 countries.
To get its “green” label, the AIB bond must comply with the International Capital Markets Association’s Green Bond Principles governing the use of the bond proceeds and related transparency and reporting requirements.
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AIB has raised €3.25 billion from the environmental bond since it began issuing the bonds in 2020, along with an additional €1 billion from a social bond earlier this year.
“As Ireland’s largest financial services provider with 2.8 million customers, AIB is already actively supporting the transition to a low-carbon future by reducing our own carbon footprint and helping our customers to do the same. We aim to play a significant role in helping the Government and the European Union meet their carbon reduction targets,” said AIB chief executive Colin Hunt.
“Our ambition is that 70 per cent of new lending will be green or transition by 2030. And we are making great progress towards achieving that goal as green lending already increased to 24 per cent of new lending in the first nine months of the year. The more green lending we do, the more green capital we can attract as environmental, social and governance (ESG) investors increasingly want to invest in companies with strong green credentials. The success of this transaction recognises our position as a national champion with a very strong capital and financial position and our ongoing commitment to our sustainability goals.”
