Commerzbank has acted as lead manager for numerous green and social bonds since 2007. Green bonds are bonds whose issuing proceeds are intended to finance clearly sustainable projects. These include, for example, projects in the field of renewable energy, sustainable waste management, energy efficiency or clean mobility solutions. Commerzbank supports issuers in the planning and structuring of such transactions and places them on the international capital market.
The total volume of all green and social bonds for which Commerzbank was the lead manager in 2020 was EUR 46.3 billion. This means that the volume almost quadrupled compared to 2019. In addition, Commerzbank is involved in various interest groups and professional associations and thus actively contributes to the further development of the market for sustainable bonds. In mid-September 2020, Commerzbank also issued its second own Green Bond with an issue volume of EUR 500 million. The bank will use the proceeds to finance projects in the field of renewable energies. The bond has a maturity of 5.5 years with a call date in March 2025 and a coupon of 0.75% per year. Loans for onshore and offshore wind projects and solar projects in Germany, other European countries and North America are allocated to the bond. The projects financed by the Green Bond lead to CO2 savings of around 850,000 tons per year. In 2020, Commerzbank was also joint lead manager in the issuance of the first Green Bond by the Federal Republic of Germany and shortly thereafter assisted the European Union in issuing two Social Bonds under the "Sure Program". In this way, the EU is helping member states to combat the consequences of Covid-19 and safeguarding jobs in the EU.
